- At approximately 1650 hrs the R10 PDO (OSC Liverman) received a telephone call from OSC Whittier who had received a report via the spill response line from Kirk Hunkler, Cedar River Water & Sewer District, 18421 SE Petrovitsky Road, Renton, WA 98058-0552. w: 425. 204.3700; c: 253.359.4273. Hunkler advised that a suspicious powdery turquoise-colored substance was observed on the floor beneath a 2” access point into a steel-cased drinking water well, and that the well is located within a secure pump/well house.
- At approximately 1700 hrs the PDO contacted Hunkler and verified the initial information. The pump/well house facility is located at 22704 262nd Avenue SE, Maple Valley, WA. The facility is a back-up source of drinking water and is not in use. The facility is secure. The unknown powdery substance was not observed yesterday, and given that the pump/well house is a secure facility, Hunkler is concerned that an unauthorized entry into the facility may have occurred. I also asked what initial actions the District had taken in response to their concerns, including whether the District had implemented a threat assessment procedure. Hunkler replied that the District had notified only the King County Sheriff Department and EPA, and he was not aware of whether the District had a threat assessment procedure.
- Given the limited information, the PDO recommend Hunkler notify the Washington State Department of Emergency Management (DEM). The PDO stated DEM would take his report and distribute it to appropriate State and federal agencies. The PDO also advised him that the Washington State Department of Health has primacy for drinking water issues and that EPA could provide technical assistance and sampling support, if appropriate.
- At approximately 1745 hrs, the PDO received a telephone call from OSC Rees. Rees had been contacted by the FBI who had been notified of the incident through DEM. The FBI was requesting a joint entry with EPA into the facility. Initially it was thought the entry would occur this evening; however the FBI postponed the entry until tomorrow morning because the pump/well house is secure and not in use.
- OSC Rees, along with START and the ERT vehicle, will meet with the FBI entry team tomorrow morning to gain entry into the facility. Assuming split samples can be collected, EPA will collect a sample of the substance and return to the ERU Warehouse to begin identification of the unknown substance(s).
