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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 21, 1995
95-199
CONTACT:
Marc Pacifico (206) 407-6282
Mary Getchell (206) 407-6157 or Pager (360) 534-8590
ECOLOGY AND TACOMA COMPANY REACH A SETTLEMENT ON ENVIRONMENTAL PENALTY
OLYMPIA, WA -- The Washington State Department of Ecology and Atlas Foundry and Machine Company reached a settlement this month on a $53,000 penalty for environmental pollution. Ecology fined the metal casting manufacturer in April 1995 for polluted stormwater the company discharged into Thea Foss Waterway through the City of Tacoma’s storm sewer system. In the settlement agreement, Atlas agreed to pay $47,000 of the penalty in what is referred to as an innovative settlement.
"The settlement is called innovative in the sense that Atlas will pay $25,000 toward an environmental project to benefit either the Puyallup/White River Watershed or the Commencement Bay/Near Shore Tide Flats,” said Mike Llewelyn, Ecology’s water quality program manager. "Both Ecology and Atlas agreed on having the money go directly toward helping the environment. That way the environment truly benefits.”
Atlas will pay the remainder of the $47,000 penalty--that is $22,000 to the state general fund. However, Ecology will credit Atlas $7,968 for permit fees. In 1993, Atlas changed its manufacturing process to a closed loop system that means the company stopped discharging process wastewater to the city of Tacoma’s storm sewer system. Therefore, Atlas was paying an amount for its permit fee that did not accurately reflect its discharge status. Atlas will now have just an individual stormwater permit paying $1,992 to Ecology for permit fees. It will no longer have a process wastewater and stormwater permit with a fee of $9,960.
Also as part of the settlement, Atlas has nine months to gain Ecology’s approval on the environmental project to benefit the Puyallup/White River Watershed or the Commencement Bay/Near Shore Tide Flats or pay $25,000 to Washington state’s general fund, in addition to the $22,000.
The agreement also included amending the administrative order Ecology issued along with the penalty in April of this year. The order has been amended to require that Atlas hire a third-party auditor to do an independent pollution prevention audit of Atlas’ Best Management Practices plan and procedures. The Best Management Practices plan and procedures are steps Atlas should be taking to prevent water pollution, such as good housekeeping practices around the plant, and redirecting pollution from stormwater (rain and snow melt) runoff. Ecology must approve the auditor’s report that is scheduled to be completed in March of 1996 and Atlas will be required to implement the auditors findings.
In April of 1995 Ecology issued Atlas a penalty and an administrative order for failing to comply with their stormwater discharge permit. Since Ecology issued Atlas a wastewater discharge permit in August 1991, the metal casting manufacturer was discharging excessive levels of pollutants. The company’s wastewater discharges go to the Thea Foss Waterway through the City of Tacoma’s storm sewer system.
The pollutants include chromium, copper, lead, zinc, oil and grease, pH and other metals. These pollutants can be harmful to fish and other aquatic life in an already unhealthy water system.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
