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Building homes on former orchard lands

Image of a house being built on former orchard land. — New house being built on land in Chelan County that was previously an apple orchard.

Central Washington is at the heart of the state’s thriving agricultural production and is home to a rapidly growing number of people. However, old orchards in the area, particularly in Chelan and Yakima counties, may have left behind harmful amounts of lead and arsenic in the soil of people’s gardens and yards.

With home building season in full swing, here’s what builders and developers need to know to responsibly create new homes in the region.

Why safe development matters

Central Washington has a rich history of apple and pear growing. One of the pesticides used in these orchards in the early 1900s, lead arsenate, built up in the soil and broke down into lead and arsenic. Long-term exposure to lead and arsenic can cause health problems.

These heavy metals are still in the soil today, a century later. They’re spread over 100,000 acres of former orchard lands in central Washington.

As our communities grow, we're turning these old orchards into new homes and businesses. While that’s great news, we need to do so carefully and ensure that everyone has a safe place to live, work, and play.

Your role as a developer or builder

You play a crucial part in helping people feel at home and keeping communities healthy. Here's what you need to do:

Check if your land was an orchard. Type in the address in our online map tool to find out if it was an orchard.
Test the soil. You’ll need to do this if the land was an orchard. Don't worry – we'll do it for free! Email us at FormerOrchards@ecy.wa.gov to set it up.
Clean up contaminated soil. There are four ways to do that:

Remove the contaminated soil.
Cover it with a barrier.
Move it to one area and cover it.
Mix it with clean soil.

Each method has its pros and cons. We can help you choose the best one for your site.

Tell future buyers. You’re responsible for letting people know about the contamination and what you did to clean it up. This is an important step that keeps everyone safe in and informed about their new home.
Report your cleanup. When you're done, send us information about the cleanup and fill out a form:

For developments: use the Residential Subdivision Self-Certification Form
For individual homes: use the Residential Building Self-Certification Form

You'll also need to send us your soil test results, cleanup details, and buyer notices. If everything looks good, we will contact you and your local permitting office to inform them of the cleanup.

Worker safety

Don't forget about your workers! Make sure they have the right training and gear to work safely with contaminated soil. Proper planning and guidance will protect them from many of the risks.

Former orchard land to veteran’s center

In 2022, we worked with the Yakima Housing Authority to clean up a property on former orchard land that had high levels of lead and arsenic in the soil.

Wherever there wasn’t a concrete cover, we placed a fabric barrier with clean soil, sod, or gravel on top. This simple method protected the public from lead and arsenic exposure and made the site ready for development.

The property became the new Chuck Austin Place, a support facility and 41-unit permanent housing development serving formerly houseless veterans.

Stay tuned

If you’re not a builder or developer but think you live on former orchard land, we can help. We’ll share more about how to sample soil on your property and what you can do to protect your family, pets, and gardens. Stay tuned!

And if you are a builder or developer, by following these steps, you're not just constructing buildings – you're protecting your neighbors and ensuring families can safely enjoy their new homes for years to come.