A new report from the state auditor’s office has found the Department of Ecology is not meeting state requirements for monitoring cleanup efforts at Camp Bonneville.
While the auditor’s office found that Ecology had complied with applicable state laws, regulations and Ecology policies in most areas, and provided adequate controls to safeguard public resources, the state agency fell short in one area.
“The department did not comply with requirements to conduct five-year reviews required for remedial actions at the former Camp Bonneville Military Reservation,” the Sept. 19 report states.
According to the audit report, Clark County is also to blame for the missed reviews. The report states the 2012 purchase agreement for the property “required the county to perform and submit a report to the Department (of Ecology) before each five-year anniversary, but the county has not done this either.”
The audit, which covered the period of July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, also reviewed eligibility and reporting related to the Climate Commitment Act; Washington Conservation Corps payroll; and rate calculations for water-quality fees and high-risk vendor payments. No issues were found in those areas.
Established in 1909 as a drill field and rifle range for troops stationed at Fort Vancouver, Camp Bonneville was used as a training camp for various branches of the military for 85 years.
Much of the property remains undeveloped, with more than half of its 4,000 acres remaining as forest land, including 800 acres of state-owned lands. Since it closed in 1995, the focus has been on clearing the area of unexploded ordnance, explosive compounds, munitions fragments and lead, along with the cleanup of soil and groundwater contaminants.
Ownership of the site was transferred to Clark County in 2011 following a decade of negotiations. The transfer was contingent on the Army’s agreement to provide additional funding to support the environmental cleanup required to restore the land for safe civilian use.
Much of that cleanup work was completed in 2021, although nearly 500 acres of the site remains permanently fenced off due to the danger from unexploded munitions. In addition to clearing the land of hazardous materials and contaminated soils, the state’s Model Toxics Control Act required reviews of the site every five years to ensure the effectiveness of the cleanup measures and to address any ongoing risks.
There were other factors contributing to the missed reviews, the auditor’s office said.
“The site has had multiple Ecology site managers throughout the cleanup duration, as well as staff turnover within Clark County. Staff turnover and initial confusion on when the periodic review period should begin resulted in noncompliance,” the report states, adding that Ecology and the county are working to complete a review by Jan. 20.
If the county is unable to meet the deadline, Ecology officials said, the state agency would provide the review.
‘Absence of knowledgeable staff’
Gregory Shaw, who sits on the county’s Camp Bonneville community advisory group and is a member of Friends of Camp Bonneville, said he wasn’t surprised by the state’s findings.
“No five-year reviews have ever been done. That lack of periodic assessment has contributed to the application of inconsistent and ineffective standards, the patchwork spatial cleanup, the absence of on-the-ground delineation of cleared versus uncleared areas, and the absence of knowledgeable staff to protect public health and safety” Shaw wrote in an email Thursday.
Shaw said the audit report should be a wake-up call to the county, the Department of Ecology and the Army because the transfer is approaching failure across the board. He also said the county continues to allow the property to be used by law enforcement for firearms training but has yet to implement any use for the conservation of natural resources.
“We know now that Ecology allowed the established clearance standards to be lowered in the face of inadequate Army funding after 2011. The roads and trails have not been cleared. Sensitive wetlands destroyed by cleanup after 2011 have not been restored — for example, the ponds are gone, Buck Creek is ‘missing’ — the FBI range has been firing into sub-standard berms that have not been cleared of lead since at least 1998, and users are shooting across and adjacent to sensitive wetlands in violation of Washington state law,” Shaw wrote.
Other issues at Camp Bonneville, he said, include a lack of security and fences in disrepair, nonexistent wildfire-prevention measures, and inconsistent cleanup efforts that don’t meet state or federal requirements.
“The Army and Ecology have left Clark County with massive liabilities, both practical and financial,” Shaw wrote. “These agencies need to step up, work together, and access how to best meet the intent and original requirements of this conservation conveyance. Until then, Camp Bonneville remains a black eye on the Army, Ecology and Clark County.”
County Councilor Gary Medvigy wasn’t surprised by the audit findings, either.
“It surprises me that you can go and miss five-year performance requirements, and no one would ever know it,” Medvigy said Thursday. “That’s disappointing.”
During several county council meetings, Medvigy has asked for better and more detailed information about the cleanup efforts. Once the cleanup work is complete, he has suggested, the property could be used for other things like housing for veterans or a county park. He said he was glad the state has at least identified the fact that there is a shortfall.
“This is one more example of lack of capacity, lack of oversight,” Medvigy said.
