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Department of Ecology News Release - December 3, 2002
02-217
BELLEVUE - The Department of Ecology (Ecology) has fined the city of Bremerton $10,000 for allowing raw sewage to flow into Sinclair Inlet last summer.
The 280,000-gallon discharge began on July 16, but went undetected for eight days. It was discovered and stopped on July 23.The discharge occurred after a contractor's work crew opened a storm drain to a sewage line by mistake. The work was part of a multi-year project to separate sanitary and storm sewer lines and prevent "combined sewage overflows" during heavy rains.
The spill prompted the Bremerton-Kitsap County Health District to issue a seven-day "no contact" advisory for Sinclair Inlet and the Port Washington Narrows.
Bremerton has enhanced its construction supervision to prevent similar events in the future. For example, city staff meets with contractors prior to construction to review environmentally sensitive areas and point out specific hazards. The city also directs contractors to report when work will take place in sensitive areas so city personnel can closely monitor the construction and confirm it is performed correctly.
"Bremerton responded quickly and well, but better oversight of its contractor could have prevented the overflow from happening," said Kevin Fitzpatrick, a water-quality supervisor for Ecology. "The city should be able to catch and stop errors like this with the improved contractor supervision it's putting in place."
The city may appeal the penalty to Ecology within 15 days or to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board within 30 days.
Contact: Larry Altose, public information, 425-649-7009. Pager: 206-663-1785.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
