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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Dec. 15, 1999
99-264
Contact: Joan Pelley, Public Information Officer, 360-738-6250
Bellingham - The state Dept. of Ecology (Ecology) has fined Dale Marr of the Whatcom county-area Marr Mink Farm $24,000 for polluting Hedrick Creek and other seasonal streams that drain into the Nooksack River.
During two separate investigations, Ecology specialists confirmed the presence of mink manure in stormwater run-off and septic-tank waste being discharged from an area where meat and eggs are processed into mink food.
Samples taken from discharge pipes and ditches draining into seasonal streams and Hedrick Creek showed fecal coliform levels ranging between 600 and 570,000 coliform colonies per 100 milliliters of water. The maximum amount of coliform allowed by the state in fresh water is 100 colonies per 100 ml. of water.
Samples of septic discharges from the mink food-processing area revealed other contaminants that contributed to a gray-colored bacterial "mat" that coated a ditch and creek for a quarter of a mile downstream of the discharge point.
"The Marr farm has been ordered to clean up its manure run-off, install an industrial wastewater treatment system and obtain a water quality permit," said Richard Grout, manager of Ecology’s Bellingham Field Office.
Biological oxygen demand (BOD) is a measurement of how much oxygen is available in water for fish and other biota. A high BOD measurement indicates excessive amounts of nutrients, fertilizers, manure or sewage. The Washington Dept. of Health allows no more than 230 mg. per liter of BOD in residential septic fields. BOD at the Marr facility was 2,200 mg/L.
Septic wastewater sampling also confirmed total suspended solids (TSS) at 1,600 mg/L; the state’s standard is 150 mg/L. Oil and grease were measured at 550 mg/L; the maximum allowed in residential septic discharges is 30 mg/L.
Grout said the penalty was calculated for six separate violations, two of which were ongoing for several days in late August and early September. He added that Marr has the right to appeal the penalty to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
