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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Feb. 9, 1999
99-024a (Ecology) 99-4 (EPA)
Contacts: Mark MacIntyre, EPA Public Affairs, (206) 553-7302EVERETT -- An Everett-area egg farm faces a state penalty and a federal clean-water order after inspectors found chicken manure piled throughout the property and contaminated water running from the site into ditches that feed Stevens Creek, a tributary to Lake Stevens.
On Friday afternoon, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) served an order demanding that Amberson Farms immediately stop discharging manure-tainted water from its location at 9131-42nd St. N.E. The order also requires Amberson Farms to deliver, within 10 days, a written plan for removing the manure and preventing similar problems in the future.
On Monday, the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) issued a $21,000 water pollution penalty to Keith Amberson, the farm owner.
"This situation demands immediate, focused action," said Bub Loiselle, a water-quality manager for EPA. "With the volume of fecal matter involved here, work needs to start ‘yesterday’. This order is the first legal step that we can take to protect the creek, but we’re looking at other options if the farm doesn’t quickly address the problem."
"In some places, the manure is so deep that we got stuck in it while trying to conduct our inspection," said Ecology’s Mary Kautz, who inspected the farm last week.
Kautz said Ecology has attempted to work with Amberson Farms since last April, but was unable to convince the owner to renew his use of a waste management plan developed back in 1987. Ecology inspectors were once again called to the site when neighbors complained of a smelly, gooey substance in roadside drainage ditches. The substance turned out to be bacteria fed by a constant supply of nutrient-rich water running off the farm.
"We’ve done what we can to work with Amberson Farms," said Kautz. "Now we must insist that they clean up the manure and start operating the farm in a responsible way."
Failing to comply with the EPA order can result in civil penalties of up to $27,500 per day of non-compliance, or administrative penalties of up to $11,000 per day.
Ecology can issue additional penalties of up to triple the original amount if Amberson Farms does not respond quickly. The owner may petition Ecology for a reduced penalty within 15 days or appeal the penalty to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board within 30 days.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
