On March 12, 2014, Dave Misko from Washington Department of Ecology Hazardous Waste & Toxics Reduction Program referred Chris Anderson from the City of Auburn Environmental Services Program to EPA regarding an abandoned oil/sludge recycling operation in Auburn City. Mr. Anderson estimated that as much as 100,000 gallons of liquid/sludge were abandoned on BNSF property in failing containers (makeshift holding ‘containers’ (tarp-lined wood frames). The concern was over oil getting into the Green River (water of the United States) via storm drain.
On March 26, 2014 at 0900, EPA and START arrived on-scene to coordinate with officials from the City of Auburn (COA), Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), and representatives with Burlington Northern-Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad and their subcontractor, Kennedy-Jenks, to perform a site walk at the abandoned Puget Sound Recyclers (PSR) facility located in Auburn, Washington. The site walk was convened to assess the current conditions at the facility and determine if a threat of release exists at the site.
The site walk concluded upon the agreement that BNSF will conduct the cleanup in coordination with the Washington Department of Ecology.
