HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985 Letter Well No. 5_Quendall Terminals.pdfWILLIAM F. LENIHAN, P. S.
JAMES F. McATEER, P. S.
JAMES C. HANKEN, P. S.
SIGURD BORGERSEN, P. S.
ANN FOREST BURNS
LENIHAN, MCATEER, HANKEN-& BORGERSEN
A PARTNERSHIP, INCLUDING PROFESSIONAL CORPORATIONS
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
13TH FLOOR, SEATTLE TOWER
1218 THIRD AVENUE
SEATTLE, WA 98101
i2O8) 624-4212
June 20, 1985
RentonCity Council
Mr. Earl Clymer
526 Cedar Avenue South
Renton, WA 98055
RE: Well No. 5/Quendall Terminals
Our File Number 3005C 015(1)
Gentlemen:
RECEIVED
PUBLIC WORKS DEPT.
CITY Lir RENTON
Litg-S
OF COUNSEL:
JOSEPH S. IVERS
HENRY T. IVERS (1902-1074)
EMMETT 0. LENIHAN (1884-1581)
The undersigned is the attorney on behalf of Quendall Terminals,
which is presently under consideration for Superfund listingas a
hazardous waste site in the City of Renton. The materials located
at Quendall Terminals are, in fact, less harmful thanmaterials
located at Gas Works Park. in the City of Seattle. The nomination
of Quendall Terminals to Superfund classificationhas occurred
because of its proximity with Renton Well No. 5.
Well No. 5 was terminated from use because of high mineral content
which gave rise to customer dissatisfaction in the early 60's.
It is our understanding and belief that in order to rehabilitate
Well No. 5 for the Renton Water System would require development
costs and treatment costs of a substantial amount of money.
Alternatively, additional well sites could be located in the North
end of the City for approximately the same cost outside of the
three-mile zone.
The Environmental Protection Agency evaluation of Quendall Ter-
minals site is based upon the status of the area at the date of
scoring. Quendall Terminals was scored in the summer of 1984. At
that point in time, Well No. 5 was totally dormant, and in my
understanding, not then determined to be reused.
Therefore, we requested that the City of Renton advise the En-
vironmental Protection Agency of the following facts:
1. That the City of Renton terminated Well No. 5 from use
in the earlier 1960's (its last day of operation) and the shutdown
included dismantling procedures to make it safe.
f:
Renton City Council
June 20, 1985
Page 2
2. That as of the summer of 1984, there were no current
established plans to rehabilitate and/or redevelop the well.
With the foregoing letter, we intend to press our case with the
City with the Environmental Protection Agency requesting a rescor-
ing based on the "abandonment" of Well No. 5. This will document
that it was not appropriate for consideration in the scoring
process. This is an argument that we have already made in the
comment period, but it needs City support.
We believe that it is important to Renton and to Quendall Ter-
minals not to be classified as a hazardous waste site community.
As a sincere reflection of our willingness to support this, we
will contribute an approximate amount of $20,000 for exploration
and drilling costs as to another well. This offer is contingent
upon the City effectively communicating the fact that Well No. 5
is not now nor has it recently been a part of Renton Water System.
With this result achieved, we believe our contribution can
effectively achieve a superior water system for Renton.
Sincerely,
LENIHAN, McATEER, HANKEN & BORGERSEN
JAMES C. HANKEN
JCH/kra
Enclosure
cc: Alex Cugini
cc: Richard C. Houghton
(H 1072/H10)