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Department of Ecology News Release - November 26, 2008
08-313
OLYMPIA - Several days of illegal discharges of chemical-laden wastewater led to a $12,000 penalty for a Cowlitz County business, the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) announced today.
Steelscape Inc. in Kalama produces cold-rolled, metallic-coated and painted steel coils for the construction market. The company has an arrangement to send sewage and other domestic waste to the Port of Kalama's (Port) domestic wastewater treatment plant. Any industrial wastewater must be treated at Steelscape before being discharged to the Columbia River. Releases of industrial wastewater to the Port's domestic wastewater treatment plant are illegal.
In late October 2007, the Port's wastewater treatment plant operator noticed a chemical smell when he arrived. Finding high pH (caustic) levels in the wastewater held in a surge tank and an aeration basin, he traced the source back to Steelscape.
He also sampled pipes from the other dischargers to the Port's treatment station. Waste from those facilities reported normal pH levels.
Over the course of the next week, the Port collected samples for Ecology's analysis. The operator also noted additional discharges of chemical-scented waste from Steelscape. The samples tested high for potassium, indicating the presence of industrial wastewater that shouldn't have been sent to the Port.
As a result of Steelscape's discharge of alkaline industrial wastewater, the Port spent more than $62,000 to repair equipment; hire an environmental contractor to haul, dispose and treat contaminated sludge and wastewater; and restore the microbial treatment system.
"Steelscape's error proved to be a costly mistake for the Port," said Garin Schrieve, a regional water quality manager for Ecology. "Thanks to the good work of the Port, the problem was identified and steps taken quickly to prevent this contaminated waste from reaching the Columbia River."
Had the improper discharges gone undetected, the Port's sewage treatment system wouldn't have properly worked and untreated sewage would have been discharged into the Columbia. Steelscape's discharge was caustic enough to potentially have killed fish and other aquatic life had it been released.
Steelscape will have 30 days to pay the penalty, ask Ecology for reconsideration or file a formal appeal with the state Pollution Control Hearings Board.
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Media Contact: Kim Schmanke, 360-407-6239 (desk)
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
