The Clark County Council has approved additional funding for a study investigating and addressing contamination issues at the former Camp Bonneville Military Reservation, a site that has been the focus of environmental cleanup efforts for decades.
The approval came during a meeting on Tuesday, March 4, where councilmembers heard from county staff, consultants and concerned residents about the ongoing remediation work.
History of Camp Bonneville’s cleanup
Camp Bonneville was a training facility for several U.S. military branches from 1909 until its closure in 1995. The site, spanning 3,840 acres, was used to train soldiers through munitions exercises, including explosives. During World War II, the camp also held Italian prisoners of war. Decades of military exercises left behind unexploded ordnance and pollutants, including lead, perchlorate and other hazardous compounds, raising concerns about long-term environmental impacts.
Since the Army transferred the property to Clark County in 2006, cleanup efforts have been ongoing, with regulatory oversight from the Washington state Department of Ecology.
Under the Camp Bonneville Reuse Plan, two-thirds of the property will be fenced off for open space and wildlife, while one-third will be designated for a public park. Cleanup efforts are progressing, with four of the five established Remedial Action Units (RAUs) completed. The final phase, groundwater cleanup, is still underway. Earlier this year, the Army, financially responsible for the cleanup, provided Clark County with $6 million to support further study and remediation efforts.
Ongoing efforts
During the March 4 meeting, the council authorized County Manager Kathleen Otto to sign a supplemental agreement with PBS Engineering & Environmental, Inc., adding $198,791.61 to its existing contract. The funding will support a new remedial investigation/feasibility study and cleanup action plan for landfill 4, demolition area 1, and sitewide groundwater at Camp Bonneville. Additionally, the council approved a resolution allowing the county to accept $200,000 in federal funds from the U.S. Army to support this work. The Army is financially responsible for the cleanup under an Environmental Services Cooperative Agreement.
County staff emphasized that the increased scope of work was necessary due to evolving regulatory requirements from the Washington State Department of Ecology.
“Ecology has requested that there be a comprehensive rewrite of the remedial investigation rather than just revising and finalizing the existing work,” Kevin Tyler, the county’s lands management division manager, said. “They also required an in-depth review and summary of all investigations that have occurred at landfill four and surrounding groundwater to date.”
Residents living near the site voiced frustration over what they see as a slow and costly process with little transparency. Ann Shaw, a neighbor of Camp Bonneville, questioned the need for more funding and why PBS Engineering had to redo its reports.
“Why did a professional company that has conducted groundwater monitoring for over two decades submit reports that do not comply with state regulations?” she asked. “Why shouldn’t this company be held accountable for covering its own costs to redo their work?”
Her husband, Gregory Shaw, echoed these concerns, adding that delays and shifting cleanup standards have eroded public confidence in the process.
“It’s been since 2003 that they’ve been doing groundwater monitoring out there, and it’s still moving around,” Gregory Shaw told The Reflector. “Something has happened. It’s inconceivable that they would spend (hundreds of thousands) of dollars to rewrite these documents unless there’s something worrying them under the surface — literally under the surface.”
When questioned by the council, Tyler explained the need for revisions was driven by Ecology’s increased scrutiny and evolving cleanup standards, not the firm’s performance.
“Ecology determined that a higher level of effort was needed to characterize contamination at this location,” Tyler said. “They asked for more detail ... a complete rewrite, not just a revision, and to include all that comprehensive (information to) look back at everything that had been done at the site prior to today’s date.”
Despite reassurances from county staff, residents remain skeptical. Gregory Shaw noted that while he appreciates the current council asking more questions than previous ones, he still feels there is a lack of transparency regarding the severity of groundwater contamination.
“We hope that the council will push for more openness about what is going on with the chemicals in the groundwater,” he said.
The next steps for the cleanup process include further studies, public meetings, and ongoing monitoring. County officials anticipate that the remedial investigation and feasibility study will continue through the end of the year, with additional public engagement opportunities before a final cleanup action plan is implemented.
