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An update from the Department of Ecology on the ongoing transformer oil spill cleanup in effect since February 25th.
Today- 9 a.m., May 29, 2019
You may see elevated water levels in Capitol Lake. This is to help the divers removing contaminated sediments as part of the lake cleanup.
The cleanup team has initiated the next phase of cleanup operations which will include removing contaminated lake sediment from heavily impacted areas in Capitol Lake. Divers will accessing contaminated areas from the shoreline wearing fully-encapsulated protective diving equipment and removing the top layer of lake sediments by suction. We expect this activity to begin sometime next week.
Contaminated lake sediments will be pumped into large settling tanks to allow the sediments to separate from the water. The contaminated sediments will be taken off site by tank truck and solidified for disposal.
Two primary areas of operation will have an impact on public access at Tumwater Historical Park and Marathon Park. At both of these areas, equipment used to support dive operations, contaminated sediment storage tanks and truck traffic will require closure of parking.
Tumwater Historical Park: Starting Friday May 24, 2019, equipment setup will begin. A portion of the parking in the park will be closed until the completion of this phase of the cleanup. The playground, restrooms and shelter areas will still be open and accessible. Signs alerting visitors to the parking closures will be posted. Since February, the interpretive trail passing under I-5 connecting the park to Deschutes Parkway has been closed due to the cleanup, and this closure will remain in place.
Marathon Park: Starting Friday May 31, 2019, equipment setup will begin here. All parking within the park will be closed to support cleanup operations. The walking trail around Capitol Lake and park restrooms will be still be accessible, and parking along Deschutes Parkway will be available.
Response operations continue in Tumwater Falls Park, and the walking trail on the east side of the Deschutes River remains closed.
The response to the transformer oil spill started on February 25, 2019, and was led by the brewery owner, Tumwater Development LLC. Substantial progress was made removing contaminated soils, infrastructure and shoreline vegetation. On May 7, 2019, the brewery owner informed Ecology that he was not currently able to provide funding for response operations to continue without interrupting clean-up activities. Because of the continued risks to human health and the environment, Ecology decided to continue cleanup operations using state funds.
More information can be found at Department of Ecology’s website-
https://ecology.wa.gov/Spills-Cleanup/Spills/Spill-preparedness-response/Responding-to-spill-incidents/Spill-incidents/Olympia-Brewery-transformer-spill
