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1 L� 1 1 �1, 1 1 1 1 2. SITE BACKGROUND From 1917 to 1974, the landfill site was used as a bum dump, a scrap metal recycling and burial yard, and a municipal landfill. In 1975, the site was graded, covered with 12 inches of soil and seeded, which closed the landfill under then current Regulations Relating to Minimum Functional Standards for Solid Waste Handling (WAC 173-301). Beginning in 1977, a commercial recycling operation stored old rubber tires at the site. In 1983 and again in 1984, fires occurred in the piles of used ribber tires on the landfill. The fires, involving approximately one million tires, were allowed to burn themselves out, leaving several acres of ash. The residue and ash from these fires caused Ecology to request that the City perform an environmental characterization of the tire fire ash. The City conducted a preliminary assessment in 1985 and a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) in 1986. In 1989 under the new Model Toxics Control Act, the site was listed and ranked on Ecology's Hazardous Sites List. This listing was based on the presence of tire fire ash, not because the site is a closed municipal landfill. In 1990, Ecology and the City of Everett signed a Consent Order that required the City to conduct ash sampling and investigation of tire fire site. As investigations progressed, it became apparent that the landfill itself, as well as the tire fire ash, was a source of contamination on the site. These investigations were completed in 1993. In 1994, Ecology required the City to supplement their investigations in order for Ecology to complete a cleanup action plan. The supplemental investigations included investigating landfill gas, gathering information to determine an appropriate landfill cover, and evaluating a proposal to treat the tire fire ash. Ecology also required the City to install a leachate collection system and surface water controls as Interim Actions. The first Interim Action, in 1995, improved site grading and the control of surface water. The entire site (except for the two tire fire areas) was graded to allow the collection and control of surface water and to reduce leachate generation, and an additional two feet of soil cover was placed over the waste areas. In 1997-1998, as a second Interim Action, the leachate collection system and site fencing were installed, and the tire fire ash area was covered with two feet of clean soil. This was deemed appropriate by Ecology because the tire fire ash was no longer classified as dangerous waste under the new Dangerous Waste Regulations (Chapter 173-303 WAC, amended November 1996). Ecology prepared a draft Cleanup Action Plan in the spring of 1999. This Draft Cleanup Action Plan did not anticipate future site redevelopment. In 1998, the City received a U.S. Envirormnental Protection Agency Brown olds Assessment Demonstration Pilot Gi-ant to evaluate redevelopment requirements for the former landfill and adjacent Simpson properties. Under this grant, the City produced a summary of existing conditions, performed a geotechnical investigation of the site, and produced a preliminary Everett Landfill/Tire Fire Site Consent Decree Exhibit E Final Public Participation Plan Page 9 of 16