Asbestos find to cost port

MOSES LAKE — The discovery of concrete asbestos pipe underneath the main runway at the Grant County International Airport will likely cost the Port of Moses Lake an additional $190,000 to remove.

According to Milton Miller, facilities director for the port, the conduit pipe was likely left over from the 1940s when the runway was originally constructed, and was designed to carry power cables to the runway’s lighting system.

The pipe was found as construction crews were tearing up a lengthy portion of the runway to remove a 10-foot high hump that blocks the line of sight from one end of the 13,000-foot main runway to the other as well as install a new lighting system. The Federal Aviation Administration has required the port to undertake the $20 million project, and is covering 90 percent of the cost.

Miller said crews have also found soil contaminated by some kind of petroleum product. A sample has been sent for testing. Port commissioners voted on Monday to set aside another $200,000 to clean up that soil.

“But it will likely not reach that,” Miller said.

However, Miller also said the FAA will not pay for any environmental remediation costs, meaning the port will have to pay for the asbestos removal and the soil remediation, delaying other construction projects this year.

According to Airport Director Rich Mueller, the firm date for finishing the runway work is still June 5.

— Charles H. Featherstone