Othello receives state grant to study property purchase

OTHELLO — The city of Othello will use a $35,258 grant, awarded through the “brownfield” program of the Washington Department of Ecology, to determine whether to buy a piece of property on Cunningham Road.

In April, city officials hired BGES, Inc. to test for contamination a second time on the property, which Mayor Shawn Logan said is next to land the city already owns. It was on sale when its owner passed away.

Logan said the property could have a couple uses, including a treatment facility for the reuse of wastewater from commercial facilities. In addition, “we could develop a wildlife park” on part of the property, he said.

But the property comes with a potential liability. It is next to land that was a refueling station for trains passing through Othello, and Logan said refueling crews weren’t very concerned about spillage back in the day.

As a result, the ground is contaminated, which was confirmed by an earlier round of testing by BGES. There’s also the potential for contaminants from the railroad property to leak into the adjoining land. The extent of the contamination, and whether there’s potential for contaminants to leak into the groundwater, is unclear.

Whoever buys the property will be responsible for the cleanup.

The analysis of the site to determine the extent of contamination will involve taking 20 soil samples from the contaminated areas of the property, and drilling three temporary wells to evaluate the existing groundwater. The company also will determine the direction of groundwater flow, which could result in further contamination if the groundwater is flowing the wrong direction.

The company’s report is due by June 30. It will include an analysis of the extent of the contamination and some preliminary estimates for cleanup costs. Logan said if the contamination is too extensive and the cleanup too expensive, city officials are not interested in the purchase.