Lynnwood construction project fined $12,000 for water-quality violations

Washington State Department of Ecology

Department of Ecology News Release - March 26, 2008

08-077

Lynnwood construction project fined $12,000 for water-quality violations

BELLEVUE – The Department of Ecology (Ecology) has fined a Lynnwood construction site $12,000 for failing to take measures – required under a state water-quality permit – to help prevent polluted runoff into Swamp Creek.

The eight-acre project – Blackstone Residential Community, 15730 Manor Way – failed to cover bare soils and protect cleared slopes, even though Ecology inspectors pointed out the need for these protections at repeated visits to the site. The measures protect exposed earth from washing away in rainy weather. They are required under Ecology’s construction stormwater permit, which applies to construction sites more than one acre in size.

“The permit requires contractors and developers to take necessary measures in preventing water pollution in the first place,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, a regional supervisor for Ecology water-quality program. “Hundreds of construction sites follow these requirements every day around the state. At Blackstone, we saw what happens when prevention falls short.”

Inspectors informed the site’s managers of several problems after site visits on Nov. 7 and Dec. 20-21, 2007. Among these:

Exposed soil was not or inadequately covered, thus being exposed to rain erosion.
Slopes needed erosion protection. Inspectors could see slope sediments and debris on Manor Way.
Channels leading to a stormwater treatment vault had no lining, so water flowing into the vault contained unnecessarily higher amounts of silt.

The violations contributed to releases of muddy water from the construction site. The site’s stormwater discharges drain to Swamp Creek. High levels of silt in stream water can harm the breathing gills in fish. Swamp Creek already does not meet state standards for dissolved oxygen, temperature, and fecal coliform bacteria. The creek is the subject of a water improvement plan, in cooperation with local governments and organizations.

Swamp Creek flows to Lake Washington, which drains to Puget Sound. Ecology’s construction stormwater efforts are part of the department’s support of the Puget Sound Partnership’s efforts to protect and restore the Sound by 2020.

The permitee – Pacific Ridge Homes LLC of Bothell – may appeal the penalty to Ecology or to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board within 30 days.

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Media Contact: Larry Altose, Ecology media relations, 425-649-7009; pager 206-663-1785