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Department of Ecology News Release - April 7, 2009
09-077
BELLEVUE – The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) has fined a Port Orchard construction project $48,000 for illegal discharges of runoff water. It is the second Ecology penalty against the 11-acre Hortsman Heights project this year.
Meanwhile, a bank preparing to take possession of the property has begun site improvements to halt the water-pollution problems.
The second set of violations at the partially excavated hillside, between Hortsman Road and SE Orlando Street, occurred on Jan. 6 through Jan. 9, 2009. The project’s owner, David Alan Development, LLC of Mill Creek, suspended work at the site in November 2008 without taking steps to prevent runoff of polluted stormwater from the property.
“You can’t just walk away from acres of bare soil on a slope,” said Kelly Susewind, who manages Ecology’s water quality program. “Many construction projects are closing because of the economy, and there are steps for preventing the release of polluted water from inactive sites. We applaud the bank’s stepping in, but this site needed those steps months ago.”
Ecology fined the company $28,000 in late January (see news release at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/news/2009news/2009-033.html ) for earlier unauthorized discharges and for failing to comply with an order to apply to the department for a construction stormwater permit. All construction sites one acre or larger must operate under the permit. The Hortsman Heights project’s permit coverage had been discontinued in August 2008.
During the January discharges, muddy water escaped from an unmaintained barrier and entered an adjacent stream that flows into Sinclair Inlet, part of Puget Sound. The discharges significantly raised the silt content of the stream’s water.
The city of Port Orchard, which has coordinated with Ecology on the case, issued a $3,700 fine in July 2008, in part for failure to take steps to prevent soil erosion and polluted stormwater runoff. Ecology and the city have each issued orders for immediate erosion control measures.
Preparations for suspending site work must include actions to prevent pollution of nearby waters. Such measures can include planting grass or other ground-cover plants on exposed soil, lining drainage channels with rock or well-established grass, constructing settling ponds, and legally connecting to local storm drain systems.
North County Bank of Arlington has brought in consultants and contractors to grade the site, install proper drainage and plant ground cover. These steps should stabilize the site and help prevent erosion and muddy discharges to a nearby creek. Consultants will monitor the property to ensure that it meets stormwater standards.
Muddy water harms fish by clogging their gills and spoiling habitat in the affected water bodies.
David Alan Development, LLC may appeal the penalty to Ecology or directly to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board within 30 days. Funds from Ecology water-quality penalties go into the department’s Coastal Protection Fund for environmental enhancement projects by local and tribal governments and state agencies.
Construction stormwater permitting and enforcement are part of Ecology’s ongoing efforts to meet the state’s goal of protecting and restoring Puget Sound’s water quality by 2020.
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Media Contact: Kim Schmanke, Ecology media relations, 360-407-6239
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
