Grant County PUD facility nears removal from hazardous sites list

MOSES LAKE - A non-operating Grant County PUD diesel generating facility is nearing removal from a state hazardous sites list after a fuel spill in 2004.

But the public comment process must be completed before the removal, said Jani Gilbert, spokesperson with the state Department of Ecology. She expects the site will fall off the state's list in August. The list comes out twice annually. The site has been cleaned up.

People can submit comments through Feb. 29 by e-mail to paca461@ecy.wa.gov, or mail to Patti Carter, state Department of Ecology, Toxics Cleanup Program, 4601 N. Monroe, Spokane, 99205-1295.

The PUD's generating facility on Randolph Road near Moses Lake was placed on the list after a diesel spill in 2004.

The spill happened during preparation for an air quality test when pipes holding diesel leaked. The pipes were in an underground vault.

The site is ranked the lowest on a state scale, meaning it represents the least potential threat.

A Spokane company removed over 1,200 yards of diesel contaminated soil from the site in 2004. The cleanup took less than a week, said Dorothy Harris, a spokesperson with Grant County PUD.

Concrete pads two generators were sitting on were also removed, according to the state Department of Ecology. The leaked diesel didn't reach groundwater.

The cost of the cleanup wasn't available Tuesday.

The facility is not operating as 20 generators from the site were sold to a Moses Lake company for $8,261 in February 2007, according to the PUD.

The utility installed the generators during the energy crisis of 2001 and projected record low river flows, according to Harris. They were used when needed and later deemed as surplus.