Cleaning up

In Washington, we've identified over 13,000 contaminated sites in need of cleanup and over 7,000 of those sites have been cleaned up using Washington State’s environmental cleanup law — the Model Toxics Control Act.
In Washington, we've identified over 13,000 contaminated sites in need of cleanup and over 7,000 of those sites have been cleaned up using Washington State’s environmental cleanup law — the Model Toxics Control Act.

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Restoring the environment after toxic contamination
The Natural Resources Damage Assessment and restoration process uses money from polluters to rebuild habitats.
Cleaning up: Fieldwork at a beloved Bellingham waterfront park
How do you investigate a waterfront cleanup site that’s also a city park?
Homeless encampment cleanup will help protect Washington residents from contamination
Gov. Inslee’s proposed budget provides funds for homeless encampment cleanup and support, which protects the environment and people, including those experiencing homelessness.
Cleaning up: How a light rail project keeps a landfill site on track
How do you build light rail and widen a freeway along the edge of a well-managed former municipal waste landfill? Very carefully!
Cleanup: The slow slide into Swift Creek

The Sumas Mountain landslide is a slow slide that has clogged and flooded Swift Creek for decades. A few years ago it was found to contain naturally-occurring asbestos and metals.

A Little Green for the Brownfields

EPA awarded $2.4 million in grants to five recipients to help assess and clean up local brownfields & properties that haven't been redeveloped due to potential contamination.

Legal victory holds Canadian company accountable for polluting the upper Columbia River

In a big win for the Colville Tribes and Washington, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a landmark environmental case this week.

Video highlights Washington's innovative cleanup law

We're celebrating 30 years of cleaning up Washington under our environmental cleanup law & the Model Toxics Control Act. To date, more than 7,000 sites in Washington have been cleaned up.

Cleaning up: It’s about turf in two Everett parks

We’re pulling up sod and replacing soil in two northeast Everett parks. Toxic metals and other particles from the Everett Smelter contaminated the grounds.

New Online Map: Dirt Alert

This month we launched our new Dirt Alert Map. This online map focuses on the Tacoma Smelter Plume and  covers other areas in the state where arsenic- and lead-related soil contamination may exist.