“Under the supervision of a professional hazardous materials clean-up crew, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s watchful eye, Oak Harbor School District has nearly cleaned up a site on district grounds where the pesticide Dursban was illegally disposed.The district entered into an agreement with PBS Environmental, a hazardous materials clean-up and consulting firm based in Seattle, on April 6, immediately following an EPA report showing samples taken from the area contained Dursban, said Bruce Worley, school district operations manager.The site is located in an area adjacent to a bus barn, about 100 feet outside the fencing of the football field near the intersection of Whidbey Avenue and Midway Boulevard. At no time did students or faculty come in contact with the contaminated site, district officials have said.The cost of the clean-up is expected to be about $40,000, based on a written quote the district received from PBS, said school district superintendent Rick Schulte. The cost may be covered by the district’s insurance, Schulte said.About 25 tons of dirt and debris were excavated from the site on Tuesday, Worley said. An inspection of the site shows most of the excavation occurred at the inside corner of two concrete walls, one being a side wall of the bus barn, and the other a retaining wall. The resulting hole is about 6 feet deep, and covers an area of about 10 by 20 feet. Air testing equipment was set up around the perimeter of the excavation to provide a warning of any hazardous materials becoming airborne during the dig. No airborne chemicals were detected, Worley said.The 25 tons of dirt and material were loaded into a trailer covered with a tarp. Once the exact chemical make-up of the trailer’s contents is verified, a specially certified hazardous materials truck driver will attach a tractor and haul the trailer to a disposal site in Oregon, Worley said.The improper disposal 650 pounds of Dursban was reported last month after the EPA served a search warrant on the school district, to gain access to the site to conduct tests, EPA agent Michael Burnett said at that time. The district was cooperative, said Burnett. A former employee of the school district was the one who had reported the improper disposal to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The report then went to the EPA for follow-up.In the affidavit for the search warrant, Burnett said Michael Zuercher named school district grounds personnel as the responsible parties for the improper disposal.An internal investigation is under way at the school district, and is expected to be wrapped up by the end of May, Schulte said. I don’t think I should comment beyond that. You can reach News-Times reporter Christine Smith at csmith@whidbeynewstimes.com or call 675-6611 “