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Department of Ecology News Release - March 5, 2008
08-056
BELLEVUE – The Department of Ecology (Ecology) fined three Whidbey Island sand and gravel facilities $16,000 each for not submitting reports required by the water quality permit under which they operate.
The penalties went to:
“Ecology’s water quality permitting system holds each facility that receives a permit accountable for collecting and reporting information about its discharges,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, regional supervisor for Ecology’s water quality program. “Self-reporting is a serious requirement, not a free pass.”
The three facilities operate under Ecology’s water-quality permit for sand and gravel operations. Such facilities mine or process sand and gravel, or mix concrete or asphalt.
Sand and gravel operations must collect and manage their stormwater, using “best management practices.” Each quarter they must measure conditions of the stormwater they release and report these to Ecology. The three facilities have submitted none of these monitoring reports for all of 2006 and 2007.
“I would like to acknowledge that, while sampling tests have been performed at all three facilities, I have failed to forward those results to Ecology, as required in their permit,” said Chuck Krieg, Vice President at Krieg Concrete Products, Inc. “The reports will be sent to Ecology within the next 30 days.”
All three discharge stormwater into the ground, and must report whether the water is too caustic or has signs of oil contamination. Krieg Concrete Products, as a concrete producer, also must measure and report on dissolved solids. The measurements provide information that helps prevent conditions that can harm groundwater quality. Ecology has not received reports of groundwater quality problems related to the three facilities.
Ecology previously fined each facility $2,000 in 2006 for failing to submit monitoring reports in 2004 and 2005. The Krieg Construction facility was fined $4,000 in 1998 for failing to submit reports from 1994 through 1997. The penalties were paid.
“We have increased the penalty because continuing to violate this core requirement is not acceptable,” Fitzpatrick said.
The companies may appeal the penalties to Ecology or to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board within 30 days.
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Media Contact: Larry Altose, Ecology public information, 425-649-7009, pager 206-663-1785
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
