PlainEnviro

Whatcom, WA

Moderate Risk (51/100)

A PlainEnviro-computed score from reported facility/violation counts, not an official EPA rating, health forecast, or population-adjusted rate. See methodology. This is a different measure than the EJ Screening score for this county, which ranks it by percentile against every other tracked county rather than against fixed national thresholds.

Environmental data for Whatcom in Washington · Population: 228,432

Whatcom, WA is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 18 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, 103 Safe Drinking Water Act systems, and 0 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Together these generate an environmental burden score of 51/100 (Moderate Risk), calibrated against national distributions for facility density, chemical release volume, Superfund concentration, and water-system health violations.

Industrial disclosures inside the county total 4.5M lbs of reported toxic releases under EPCRA Section 313, while 21 water systems carry an active health-based violation in the SDWIS record. EPA Air Quality System monitors logged a median AQI of 33 and a peak AQI of 82 in 2024, with 93% of observed days rated "Good" (0–50).

All figures below draw directly from federal EPA records, TRI self-reported emissions, SDWIS compliance history, NPL Hazard Ranking System scores, and AQS daily AQI summaries, and are not adjusted, weighted, or forecast. A past violation or elevated score does not itself indicate current unsafe conditions; it documents the regulatory and disclosure history publicly filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the most recent reporting cycle.

Population
228,432
TRI Facilities
18
Water Systems
103
Superfund Sites
0
Total Releases
4.5M lbs

Air Quality History (2020–2024)

EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) data showing how many days per year fall into each air quality category.

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy (SG) Max AQI
2024 335 (93%) 26 0 82
2023 327 (91%) 33 0 94
2022 294 (86%) 40 3 243
2021 323 (97%) 7 2 129
2020 341 (93%) 16 2 237
2024 Good Air Quality: 93% of days
Median AQI: 33

Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County AQI categories: Good (0-50), Moderate (51-100), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150), Unhealthy (151-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300), Hazardous (301+)

For real-time air quality readings and pollutant breakdowns in Washington, see the EPA's AirNow.gov.

Water Systems (103)

System Population Violations
BELLINGHAM-WATER DIVISION CITY OF 139,912 1
FERNDALE 19,305 0
LYNDEN WATER DEPARTMENT 17,969 3
LWWSD - SOUTH SHORE WATER SYSTEM 10,028 0
BIRCH BAY WATER & SEWER DISTRICT 9,019 0
BLAINE CITY OF 6,319 0
EVERSON CITY OF 3,788 0
LUMMI TRIBAL WATER DISTRICT 3,699 1
Columbia Valley Water District 2,648 0
NOOKSACK WATER DEPT 2,427 0
GLACIER WATER DISTRICT 2,383 0
SANDY POINT IMPROVEMENT CO 2,098 0
SUMAS WATER DEPT 1,740 0
POLE ROAD WATER ASSOCIATION 1,545 0
POINT ROBERTS WATER DISTRICT NO 4 1,440 0
WHATCOM COUNTY WATER DIST #2 1,353 0
NOOKSACK VALLEY WATER ASSOCIATION 1,343 0
WHATCOM COUNTY WATER DIST 13 795 0
SUMAS RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION 612 0
MEADOWBROOK WATER ASSOCIATION 579 0
ACME WATER DISTRICT NO 18 568 0
HAMILTON WATER DEPARTMENT 540 0
OLD SETTLERS WATER ASSOCIATION 540 0
DEMING WATER ASSOC. 501 0
MOUNT BAKER WATER ASSOCIATION 500 1
LOUIE JOE WATER ASSOCIATION 471 0
DELTA WATER ASSOCIATION 450 124
SKOOKUM CHUCK WATER ASSOCIATION 415 0
BERTHUSEN ROAD WATER ASSOCIATION 409 0
Northwest Water Assoc. Inc. 400 0
Custer Water Association 365 0
LISECC 357 20
BELL BAY JACKSON WATER ASSOCIATION 350 0
RASPBERRY RIDGE WATER ASSOCIATION 276 0
Y-SQUALICUM WATER ASSN 260 0
GUIDE MERIDIAN WATER ASSOCIATION 258 0
PERCIE ROAD WATER ASSOCIATION 250 0
RATHBONE PARK WATER ASSOC 240 9
HEMMI ROAD WATER ASSOCIATION 236 0
BELFERN WATER ASSOCIATION 228 0
Colony Mountain 213 3
NEPTUNE BEACH WATER ASSOC 200 0
PARADISE PARK WATER SYSTEM 200 0
LWWSD - EAGLERIDGE 196 0
MAPLE FALLS WATER COOP 194 0
MOUNTAIN VIEW WATER ASSOCIATION 186 0
VALLEY VIEW WATER ASSOC 185 0
ENTERPRISE ESTATES WATER ASSOC. 184 0
EVERGREEN MOBILE PARK & SALES 180 1
WILLEYS LAKE TERRACE WATER ASSN 180 3
SUNSET WATER ASSOCIATION 174 0
ORCHARD WATER ASSOC 165 0
WAHL WATER ASSOC 165 0
5 CEDARS 150 21
RUTSATZ ROAD 150 3
SULWHANON 150 7
ROEDERLAND WATER ASSOCIATION 150 0
LWWSD - AGATE HEIGHTS 147 0
NORTH STAR WATER ASSOC 140 0
HILLTOP WATER OWNERS ASSOCIATION 137 0
EVERSON WATER ASSOC 130 0
ISLE AIRE BEACH ASSOCIATION 125 7
LAKE TERRILL WATER ASSOC 125 0
ALDERGROVE WATER ASSOC. 120 0
MANTHEYS COUNTRY MOBILE PARK 120 0
CEDAR LYNN WATER ASSOC 116 0
LAKE SAMISH TERRACE LLC 115 0
CENTURY WATER ASSOCIATION 110 0
TALL CEDARS ESTATES WATER ASSOC. 100 0
WICKERSHAM WATER ASSOCIATION 98 0
ENTERPRISE TERRACE WATER ASSN. 95 1
PRAIRIE ACRES WATER SYSTEM 90 0
MOUNT BAKER MOBILE HOME PARK 87 0
FERNDALE ESTATES LLC 85 6
FLEMINGS PLATT WATER ASSOCIATION 84 0
GEORGIA MANOR WATER ASSOC 81 0
SMITH ROAD WATER ASSOCIATION 77 1
PLEASANT VALLEY WATER SYSTEM 73 1
RIVER LANE COMMUNITY CLUB 72 0
GLACIER SPRINGS WATER SYSTEM 71 0
BELFERN WEST 60 0
DOUBLE L MOBILE HOME PARK 58 1
NORTHWEST MOBILE HOME PARK 55 0
THORNTON WATER ASSOCIATION 55 0
HAMPTON WATER ASSOCIATION 54 0
COUNTRY HAVEN WATER ASSOC 50 0
WILDLIFE ACRES WATER ASSOCIATION 46 0
SAUK MOUNTAIN ESTATES 45 0
KELLY ROAD WATER ASSOCIATION 45 0
LAUREL WEST WATER ASSOCIATION 45 0
CALMOR COVE CLUB 43 35
VICTOR WATER ASSOCIATION 43 0
ANDERSON CREEK WATER ASSOCIATION 41 0
CALMAN JAMES L. 40 0
BAKER VIEW WATER ASSOC 40 0
Glen Cove Water Association 39 0
PRAIRIE ESTATES WATER SYSTEM 39 0
ROYAL COACHMAN MOBIL EST 37 0
SUNSET WATER & MAINTENANCE ASSOC 35 0
RIVER RD WATER ASSOCIATION 30 0
GRANDVIEW BEACH WATER ASSOC INC 28 0
HOLLINGSWORTH WATER ASSOC INC 28 0
WHISPERING CEDARS 25 14

TRI Facilities (18)

# Facility Total Releases
1 Bp Cherry Point Refinery 1.6M lbs
2 Phillips 66 Ferndale Refinery 1.5M lbs
3 Intalco Aluminum LLC 795.1K lbs
4 Chemco Inc 157.4K lbs
5 Maax US Corp 153.5K lbs
6 Darigold - Lynden 73.8K lbs
7 Linde Inc 70.9K lbs
8 Pse Ferndale Generating Station 65.0K lbs
9 Ershigs Inc 24.4K lbs
10 Granite Northwest Singer Pit 277 lbs
11 Iko Pacific Inc. 161 lbs
12 Brooks Manufacturing Co. 2 lbs
13 Oldcastle Precast Inc 2 lbs
14 Bell Lumber & Pole Co Washington LLC 1 lbs
15 Alpha Technologies Services Inc. 0 lbs
16 Lister Chain & Forge Inc 0 lbs
17 Cargill Animal Nutrition 0 lbs
18 Safran Cabin Bellingham Inc 0 lbs

Cities in Whatcom (6)

Bellingham
Pop: -
7 facilities · 19 water
Blaine
Pop: -
2 facilities · 1 water
Ferndale
Pop: -
6 facilities · 19 water
Lynden
Pop: -
1 facilities · 29 water
Sumas
Pop: -
1 facilities · 2 water
Everson
Pop: -
1 facilities · 5 water

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the environmental risk level in Whatcom, Washington? ▼
Whatcom, WA has an environmental risk score of 51/100 (Moderate Risk), based on 18 TRI facilities, 0 Superfund sites, and 103 water systems on record. 21 water systems have health-based violations. Source: EPA TRI, SDWIS, and Superfund NPL.
Are there Superfund sites in Whatcom? ▼
No Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites are currently registered in Whatcom, WA in the EPA database.
How many toxic release facilities are in Whatcom? ▼
Whatcom, WA has 18 TRI-reporting facilities on record with the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, with a combined total of 4.5M lbs in reported toxic releases. TRI facilities self-report annual chemical release data to the EPA.
What is the air quality in Whatcom? ▼
In 2024, Whatcom, WA recorded a median AQI of 33 and a peak AQI of 82. 93% of monitored days had "Good" air quality (AQI 0–50). Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County.
Is the drinking water safe in Whatcom? ▼
Whatcom, WA has 103 EPA-regulated water systems. 21 systems have reported health-based violations (MCL exceedances). A past violation does not necessarily mean water is currently unsafe. For current water quality, contact your local water utility. Source: EPA SDWIS.
What environmental agencies cover Whatcom? ▼
Environmental compliance in Whatcom, Washington is overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the federal level and the Washington state environmental agency. Facilities report to the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, water systems are regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and contaminated sites are managed under the Superfund program. Contact your state environmental agency for local concerns.

What does this county environmental profile show?

This county environmental profile rolls up EPA Toxics Release Inventory facility reports, Safe Drinking Water Information System public-water-system filings, and Superfund National Priorities List sites for the county boundary defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Facility counts reflect facilities with a reporting address inside the county, not where downstream environmental effects may be observed. Population figures are from the most recent Census ACS 5-year estimate. The county detail page is updated whenever the upstream EPA programs publish revised data; see the methodology page for the documented ingest cadence and the editorial choices governing how aggregations are computed.

Related Guides

Understanding EPA Data
How EPA collects and publishes environmental data
Environmental Justice
Who lives near polluters and environmental hazards
How to Check Environmental Quality
Step-by-step guide to checking your local environment

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Related

Browse all → | Rankings →
Data sourced from U.S. EPA environmental datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainEnviro Editorial