  |
|
|
Department of Ecology News Release - January 19, 2006
06-009
Following is a summary of all penalties of $1,000 or more issued by the Department of Ecology (Ecology) during the fourth quarter (October, November, December) of 2005.
Ecology prefers voluntary compliance with environmental rules and regulations. When voluntary compliance is unsuccessful, Ecology may use increasingly stringent enforcement tools ranging from warning letters to monetary civil penalties and/or criminal prosecution.
The penalty money Ecology collects goes into the state general fund or special accounts - to support general services for Washington residents or, in some cases, projects that protect public health and the environment.
Ecology issued $342,200 in civil penalties of $1,000 or more during the fourth quarter of 2005. Counting the $1,000-or-more penalties only, Ecology issued a total $1,851,321 of penalties in 2005, compared to $1,255,012 in 2004.
| County of Violation | City of Violation | Date of Issue | Penalty Recipient | Description of violation | Amount Assessed | Media Contact |
| Clark | Ridgefield | 10/6/05 | Sun Country Homes/Helmes Inc., Wubben Bros. Excavation & Underground Inc. and New Tradition Homes Inc. | Allowed muddy water to discharge from Cedar Ridge housing development into a tributary to Gee Creek. | $13,000 | Sandy Howard 360-407-6239 |
| Cowlitz | Longview | 10/25/05 | Union Pacific Railroad, Longview site | Spilled 1,300 gallons of fuel and oil after two freight trains collided south of Kelso in November 2003 | $106,000 | Sandy Howard 360-407-6239 |
| Cowlitz | Longview | 11/17/05 | Longview Fibre Co. | Failed to meet air-pollution limits four times between April 27 and June 7 | $16,000 | Sandy Howard 360-407-6239 |
| Grays Harbor | Cosmopolis | 10/27/05 | Weyerhaeuser Co. Cosmopolis Pulp Mill | Failed to meet pollution limits in wastewater permit. | $1,000 | Sandy Howard 360-407-6239 |
| King | Seattle | 10/21/05 | Sound Transit and PCL Construction Services Inc. | Discharged muddy water into Gilliam Creek on July 6, 2005 and failed to monitor discharge | $4,000 | Larry Altose 425-649-7009 |
| King | Seattle | 10/21/05 | SeaTac Airport and TTI Constructors LLC | Spilled 7,000 gallons of muddy water into a wetland, 3,000 gallons of which flowed into Miller Creek on Sept. 12, 2005 | $9,000 | Larry Altose 425-649-7009 |
| King | Kent | 10/25/05 | KANGLX 76, Ambika Inc. | Service station at 10407 SE 256th St. failed to comply with release detection and financial responsibility for underground fuel tanks. | $1,200 | Larry Altose 425-649-7009 |
| King | Seattle | 11/22/05 | Dan Anderson, boat owner. | Spilled 330 gallons of motor oil when the tug boat Florence Fillberg sank into Salmon Bay on June 23, 2005. | $2,000 | Larry Altose 425-649-7009 |
| Lewis | Chehalis | 11/30/05 | Fire Mountain Farms | Allowed odors to emanate from waste lagoons on the Newaukum Prairie causing neighbor complaints and violating its state biosolids permit. | $7,500 | Sandy Howard 360-407-6239 |
| Pacific | Raymond | 10/4/05 | Jackpot Industries Inc. | Allowed sandblast grit to run into the Willapa River and operated without a shipyard permit. | $10,000 | Sandy Howard 360-407-6239 |
| Pierce | Tacoma | 11/2/05 | Metro Rooter and Plumbing | Dumped kitchen grease and waste water into a storm drain near Sheridan Elementary School | $10,000 | Sandy Howard 360-407-6239 |
| Pierce | Tacoma | 11/10/05 | Helge Dordal | Owned vessel that sank, spilling 100 gallons of oil into Commencement Bay. | $2,000 | Sandy Howard 360-407-6239 |
| Skagit | Mount Vernon | 12/22/05 | MVA Partnership and Boss Construction Inc. | Discharged muddy water from the Skagit Highlands construction project into a wetland and stream in April, June and July 2005. | $16,000 | Larry Altose 425-649-7009 |
| Skagit | LaConner | 12/23/05 | Les Kneeland, vessel owner. | Spilled 206 gallons of diesel oil into Swinomish Channel when the fishing vessel Rena Marie sank on Aug. 31, 2005. | $2,000 | Larry Altose 425-649-7009 |
| Snohomish | Arlington | 11/16/05 | West Coast Inc. | Released muddy water into Portage Creek from a construction site on Crown Ridge Blvd. on April 6,7 and 18, 2005. | $14,000 | Larry Altose 425-649-7009 |
| Snohomish | Snohomish | 12/15/05 | City of Snohomish | Stored biosolids for longer than two years without either obtaining required permits or submitting a plan to close the storage lagoon. | $1,500 | Larry Altose 425-649-7009 |
| Whatcom
|
Ferndale | 11/15/05 | Magnum Trailer Co. | Allowed solvent to drain onto the ground, failed to designate hazardous waste in 2004 and 2005. | $56,000 | Larry Altose 425-649-7009 |
| Whatcom | Lynden | 12/20/05 | Westfarm Foods Inc. | Violated water-quality permit standards and failed to meet monitoring and reporting requirements. | $60,000 | Larry Altose 425-649-7009 |
| Yakima | Union Gap | 10/19/05 | Clasen Fruit & Cold Storage Co. Inc. | Violated wastewater permit and improperly applied waste water that killed fish in a private pond. | $11,000 | Joy Redfield-Wilder 509-575-2610 |
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
