Soil Cleanup At Midget Oil Yard Part Of Market Superfund Project

The state Department of Ecology is inviting comments on a planned soil contamination cleanup project at the former Midget Oil recycling yard at Lincoln Road and Market Street.

At its peak in the 1950s, the Midget Oil recycling facility on North Market produced up to 1,200 gallons of oil per week. The business closed in 1979.

Today, the crumbling concrete block building sprouting rusted pipes and tanks is tagged for demolition.

Oil-laden soil under and around the building will be hauled to an incinerator at Remtech in Airway Heights and burned. The lot will be backfilled with clean soil and gravel.

The Midget Oil cleanup is part of the larger North Market Street Superfund project.

William Fees, an environmental engineer with the state Department of Ecology, said public comments on the project will be accepted through Oct. 29. Cleanup is expected to start early next month.

During the cleanup, neighbors and passersby will notice little more than backhoes and dump trucks working at the site, Fees said.

Midget Oil opened in 1945 and refined oil for sale to service stations until 1979.

The cleanup isn’t likely to remove all contamination and future use of the property will be restricted, said Fees.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Care to comment? Comments about the proposed cleanup of the Midget Oil site on North Market Street may be sent to: William Fees, 4601 N. Monroe, Suite 202, Spokane, WA 99205-1295. Deadline is Oct. 29.