Park Laundry Remedial Investigation

Client: Union Ridge Investment Company

Location: Ridgefield, Washington

After a piece of property in downtown Ridgefield, Washington was quitclaimed to the Union Ridge Investment Company (URIC), the Washington State Department of Ecology notified the group of investors that they would be required to investigate suspected contamination on the property, which was formerly the site of Park Laundry, a laundry and dry cleaning business. Investigation efforts would likely be involved and costly, and URIC was not in a financial position to absorb those costs.

URIC reached out to MFA and, working with an established attorney contact, MFA coordinated the application of funds from an existing insurance policy towards investigating contamination on the site. This additional funding allowed URIC to move forward with investigative efforts and pursue remediation options. Because initial assessments revealed the presence of volatile organic compounds, including trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethene (PCE), MFA performed groundwater monitoring, a vapor risk assessment, and community outreach activities.

The Park Laundry property is now in the final stages of remedial investigation and MFA is working with the department of Ecology to submit the final conditions report in early 2015. All of these activities support URIC’s goal to eventually remove the element of uncertainty from the property and find a buyer.

Because of MFA’s assistance with this project, URIC achieved:

• Full funding for the cleanup investigation by way of an existing insurance policy
• Brownfield designation for the Park Laundry property and surrounding properties
• Positive community relations resulting from outreach in the form of open house meetings, fact sheets, and a project website
• Potential to remove uncertainty from the property and locate an interested buyer