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Department of Ecology News Release - January 17, 2008
08-011
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 2007. Individual news releases are issued for penalties that are $10,000 or greater when the penalty is initially given. All together, Ecology issued nearly $2.6 million in penalties during 2007.
The penalty money Ecology collects goes into either the state general fund or special accounts so it can be sent back to communities for projects that benefit the environment. Penalties listed below can be paid to Ecology or appealed to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board. A particular penalty may be fully satisfied at this time.
| County of Violation | City of Violation | Date Issued | Penalty Recipient | Description of Violation | Amount | Media Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton | Finley | 8/20/07 | Union Pacific Railroad Release at UPRR Bridge Finley | Spilled at least 22 gallons of hydraulic fluid to the Columbia River when a railroad car derailed on the Union Pacific bridge at Finley. Failed to properly report the spill and failed to commence cleanup action. | $2,000 | Joye Redfield-Wilder, 509-575-2610 |
| Benton | Richland | 10/1/07 | Energy Northwest Columbia Generating Station | Inspections found industrial chemicals and hazardous wastes improperly labeled, wastes left inside laboratory work stations, unreported spills of chemicals, and chemical waste abandoned around sites, all in violation of dangerous waste regulations. Serious concerns were noted regarding employee training and safely handling hazardous waste materials. | $120,000 | Sharon Braswell, 509-372-7895 |
| Benton | Richland | 11/6/2007 | U.S. Dept. of Energy – Office of River Protection | Spilled 80 gallons of highly radioactive tank waste to the environment in the Hanford 200 Area, endangering workers and halting cleanup of Hanford’s underground single-shell tanks. Reporting delays of more than 7 hours occurred. Enforcement action under the Tri-Party Agreement. | $500,000 | Sharon Braswell, 509-372-7895 |
| Chelan | Wenatchee | 12/6/2007 | JS Autobody Shop | Failed to report body shop emissions inventory for the years 2005 and 2006. Failed to comply with emission registration requirements. | $1,000 | Joye Redfield-Wilder, 509-575-2610 |
| Clallam | Forks | 11/5/2007 | Forks Sand and Gravel, Inc. | The site showed evidence of continuing oil spills and leaks from trucks and other equipment. Caustic water from the concrete-loading area pooled on the ground instead of being directed to treatment ponds. A lined treatment pond had a build-up of solids in one area, limiting the pond’s ability to function properly. | $13,000 | Kim Schmanke, 360-407-6239 |
| Cowlitz | Castle Rock | 10/8/2007 | Larry Dent | Underground storage tank containing waste oil leaked into the Cowlitz River during a flood. | $1,875 | Kim Schmanke, 360-407-6239 |
| Franklin | Pasco | 10/3/2007 | Two Rivers Terminal LLC | Failed to receive air quality permitting approval before installing equipment and operating its chemical plant, which produces agricultural and industrial chemicals. | $10,000 | Jani Gilbert, 509-329-3495 |
| Jefferson | Port Townsend | 10/11/2007 | Port Townsend Paper Corporation | The power boiler exceeded particulate emission limits on two dates, and the package boiler exceeded its limit for opacity on a third date. | $5,000 | Kim Schmanke, 360-407-6239 |
| King | Auburn | 6/27/2007 | JPS Holdings Brandon Meadows | Discharged stormwater from a construction project without a permit and violated the terms of a regulatory order. | $85,318 | Larry Altose, 425-649-7009 |
| King | Bellevue | 8/3/2007 | Land Holding LLC Parkwood Lane | Failed to respond to a notice of violation (NOV) for construction stormwater permit violations. Further violations observed after the due date for response to the NOV. | $16,000 | Larry Altose, 425-649-7009 |
| King | Carnation | 8/29/2007 | King County | Violated construction stormwater general permit limits while pouring concrete for the Tolt Hill Bridge project, discharging high pH waste into the Snoqualmie River. | $12,000 | Larry Altose, 425-649-7009 |
| King | SeaTac | 9/27/2007 | Port of Seattle | Four detention pond/sump/pump failures compromised required protections against muddy water discharges to Miller and Gilliam creeks from a light rail and road realignment project at Sea-Tac Airport | $20,000 | Larry Altose, 425-649-7009 |
| King | Seattle | 10/23/2007 | King County | Violated water quality permit parameters for disinfection and lacked representative sampling at the West Point wastewater treatment plant on July 1 and Aug. 12, 2007. | $8,000 | Larry Altose, 425-649-7009 |
| King | SeaTac | 12/13/2007 | U Haul Co. of Sea Tac | Employee failed to monitor a fuel transfer which caused a gasoline spill to a storm drain on SeaTac’s International Boulevard. Approx. five gallons entered a catch basin connected to a drain line that flows to Des Moines Creek. | $1,500 | Larry Altose, 425-649-7009 |
| Kittitas | Roslyn | 11/2/2007 | R & R Heights Land Company Inc | Violated state water quality laws and allowed sediment-laden runoff to pollute nearby creeks from a housing development near Ronald, Wash. In addition, landowner Nathan Weis was fined for failing to stabilize the site to prevent stormwater runoff and for not having a valid construction stormwater permit. | $8,000 | Joye Redfield-Wilder, 509-575-2610
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| Pacific | Raymond | 11/7/2007 | Jackpot Industries, Inc. | Repeat violation of operating a shipyard without a permit, dropping sandblast grit and paint chips into the Willapa River. The company had been warned previously to apply for necessary permits. | $23,042 | Kim Schmanke, 360-407-6239
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| Pierce | Tacoma | 10/30/2007 | Marine Floats | Marine Floats operated a boatyard without the necessary permit, did not implement a stormwater pollution prevention plan, did not monitor its stormwater discharge or make required reports of stormwater discharges to Ecology. | $12,785 | Kim Schmanke, 360-407-6239
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| Pierce | Tacoma | 10/2/2007 | Simpson Tacoma Kraft Company | The mill’s wastewater discharge exceeded limits for Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), which has the potential to deplete the oxygen level of the receiving waters. | $2,000 | Kim Schmanke, 360-407-6239
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| Pierce | Tacoma | 11/2/2007 | Simpson Tacoma Kraft Company | Power Boiler 6 and 7 exceeded limits for particulate matter on multiple dates: 02/06/07, 03/08-09/2007, 03/28/2007 and 08/20/07 | $8,000 | Kim Schmanke, 360-407-6239
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| Pierce | On the border of Tacoma and Ruston | 11/1/2007 | MC Construction Consultants, Inc. | MC Construction workers were sanding and pressure washing the hull of the vessel Steilacoom, resulting in pollution to Commencement Bay at the Point Ruston development site. This work that should have been done in a permitted shipyard. | $1,000 | Kim Schmanke, 360-407-6239
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| San Juan | Lopez Island | 12/12/2007 | Ken Hansen | Spilled approximately 20 gallons of diesel fuel to Fisherman’s Bay when the fishing vessel Stanley sank. Owner did not take actions to clean up or contain the spill, requiring Ecology to hire a spill response contractor. | $2,000 | Larry Altose, 425-649-7009
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| Skagit | Anacortes | 12/13/2007 | Island Transport Ferry Service | Spilled 14 gallons of diesel fuel to Flounder Bay during a mobile fuel transfer. | $1,500 | Larry Altose, 425-649-7009
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| Spokane | Nine Mile Falls | 12/5/2007 | Brandon L. Sather | Illegally graded and excavated land adjacent to ordinary high water mark of Long Lake. Failed to complete restoration of the site by deadline of 11/30/07 as ordered. | $2,000 | Jani Gilbert, 509-329-3495 |
| Whatcom | Bellingham | 12/12/2007 | Mark Oreiro | Spilled approximately 40 gallons of diesel fuel into Drayton Harbor when the fishing vessel Ulitka sank at the Blaine Marina. Owner took no action to address the spill, requiring Ecology to hire a spill response contractor. | $2,000
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Larry Altose, 425-649-7009
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| Whatcom | Bellingham | 12/14/2007 | Craig Wolfla | Spilled approximately 60 gallons of oily bilge water to Squalicum Harbor from the fishing vessel Heidi. | $1,000
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Larry Altose, 425-649-7009
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Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
