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Department of Ecology News Release - December 10, 2007
07-362
BELLEVUE – The Karcher Creek Sewer District near Port Orchard will help improve fish passage along Cool Creek, south of Port Orchard, as part of an agreement with the Department of Ecology (Ecology) to settle a penalty for violating a state law on biosolids management.
The Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board approved the settlement last week. Karcher Creek had appealed the $10,500 penalty issued last March by Ecology, along with an order to remove biosolids sent illegally to a tree farm nursery, a topsoil producer and a sand-and-gravel mine.
Under the settlement, Karcher Creek will contribute $8,400 to a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) project to replace the Cool Creek Culvert on Phillips Road to enhance fish habitat. The district will pay the rest of the penalty amount – $2,100 – to Ecology.
“This closes the case in an innovative way that benefits local water quality and salmon runs,” said Marietta Sharp, a biosolids specialist at Ecology’s Northwest Regional Office in Bellevue. “We look forward to working with the Karcher Creek staff as they develop a plan for the beneficial reuse of their biosolids.”
Biosolids are the residual solid material generated during the wastewater treatment process. Biosolids that meet state and federal disinfection standards can be applied to land as a fertilizer. Only state-permitted farms or forests can take Class B biosolids, the most commonly-produced grade. Class A biosolids, which are more-extensively treated and tested, may be used anywhere.
Karcher Creek sent biosolids – produced under a new process developed by the district – to the local businesses as Class A material, without Ecology approval. Ecology determined the biosolids had not passed the necessary requirements to meet Class A. Further testing and review of the analytical data established that the material met Class B requirements. The district complied with Ecology’s order to recover the biosolids.
Karcher Creek has taken steps to obtain a Class A rating for the new process from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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Media Contacts: Larry Altose, Ecology media relations, 425-649-7009
Larry Curles, General Manager, Karcher Creek Sewer District, (360) 876-2545
Original penalty news release: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/news/2007news/2007-056.html
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
