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Department of Ecology News Release - Sept. 17, 2003
03-177
SPOKANE - A Spokane company that builds, sells and repairs fiberglass boats has been fined $34,000 for illegally discharging a hazardous substance into a storm drain that eventually leads to the Spokane River.
The penalty is not the first time the state Department of Ecology has taken enforcement action against Freedom Marine Engineering & Design Inc., located at 1224 E. Front St. In 1988, Ecology warned the company to stop discharging styrene to the storm drain.
And in 1990, the company received a formal order accompanied by a $2,500 penalty. The order required the company to fix a variety of violations, including storing hazardous waste for longer than allowed, not properly marking chemical and oil containers, not training personnel to properly handle hazardous wastes and failing to put emergency procedures in place.
"Over the years, we've seen a chronic tendency by Freedom Marine to ignore state rules for managing hazardous waste," said Lisa Brown who manages hazardous-waste issues for Ecology in Eastern Washington. "We hope this fine, combined with repeated visits, will have the facility treating the environment a lot differently in the very near future."
Within the past year, Ecology inspectors found indications that solvents, resins and other chemicals had been spilled and chemicals were still improperly stored.
Test results conducted this year positively identified hazardous substances in the floor sump. Personnel from the Spokane Wastewater Management Department found that the floor sump was connected to a parking-lot storm-drain system.
The city performed a dye test on the floor sump, discovering that it flowed to a city storm-drain system on Front Street, which in turn flows into the Spokane River. Spokane personnel immediately plugged the discharge end of the pipe to prevent the substances from continuing to flow into the Spokane River.
In addition to the financial penalty, Ecology has ordered Freedom Marine to take several steps to properly manage its hazardous wastes.
The company can appeal the penalty and order with 30 days to the state's Pollution Control Hearings Board.
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Contact: Jani Gilbert, public information manager, 509-329-3495; pager, 622-1289
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
