Neighbors Of Midway Landfill Reach $2.4 Million Settlement With Seattle

KENT

One hundred thirty neighbors of the Midway Landfill are the beneficiaries of a $2.4 million settlement with the city of Seattle in the latest settlement involving two dumps previously operated by Seattle in Kent.

The residents living south and east of the Midway dump cited health problems and reduced property values because of the landfill.

Bryan Coluccio, attorney for the residents, said his clients "fared much better," based on average payment per family, than an earlier group of 206 Midway families that received $3.5 million to settle their claims.

The latest payment brings to more than $18 million the amount Seattle has paid or agreed to pay to property owners who say they were damaged by the Midway or Kent Highlands landfills.

The city spent $5 million buying and reselling 165 Midway homes after explosive levels of methane were discovered in some homes.

The two dumps, closed in the mid-1980s, are on the federal government's list of high-priority hazardous-waste sites covered by the Superfund program.