Cleanup plan set for former cement plant in Spokane Valley

An agreement has been reached for cleaning up the site of the former Holcim cement plant in Spokane Valley.

Located south of the Spokane River, directly across from Plantes Ferry Park and east of the Coyote Rock development, Holcim Inc. operated a cement factory there until 1967.

The site was then used for cement distribution for a number of years before shutting down. In 2006, tall storage silos were torn down, leaving behind cement kiln dust with contaminates including arsenic, lead and cadmium, and also benzene and gasoline associated with train activity and fuel storage on the site.

Neighboring lots owned by the city of Spokane Valley and Neighborhood Inc. – which owns Coyote Rock – were also contaminated.

Because the contamination was deemed a threat to human health, the Department of Ecology got involved in working out a cleanup plan.

Jeremy Schmidt, Ecology’s site manager, said a consent decree has been signed by all parties and cleanup is scheduled for the summer and fall 2016.

“Work may be delayed for one year if we can’t get contractors out there at the right time,” Schmidt said. The work has to done when the groundwater level is low so as not to increase contamination.

The kiln dust has now turned to cement and must be scraped off, piled in one place and capped with cement to stop contaminants from leaking into soil and groundwater.

Holcim Inc. still owns the site and both Schmidt and Spokane Valley city attorney Cary Driskell said the company has been responsive and responsible.

“They have been very easy to work with,” Driskell said. Holcim, which is based in Massachusetts and operates cement plants across the country, did not respond to a request for comment.

“There was a range of options for cleanup,” Driskell said, with costs ranging from $1.6 million to more than $10 million. “It will not cost Spokane Valley anything.”

Schmidt said he wasn’t sure how much the total cleanup would cost.

The Irvin Water District, with its nearly 1,100 services, has a nearby wellhead but it has not shown any sign of contamination.