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Department of Ecology News Release - February 8, 2010
10-020
BELLEVUE – The Department of Ecology (Ecology) has fined Michel’s Pipe Services (Michel’s) of Salem, Ore., $9,000 for two chemical spills in July, 2009, during work under I-405 near Southeast Eighth Street in Bellevue. Ecology also has issued a formal warning letter to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) concerning the incident.
The spills occurred during a project to install a plastic lining in a 24-inch culvert that carries Trail Creek under the freeway. Michel’s – a sub-contractor for WSDOT’s prime contractor, Atkinson Construction – used a process known as “cure in place.” On each of two nights, workers snaked a 200-foot sheath coated with softened plastic resin into the existing pipe, using air pressure and steam to press the sheath against the culvert and harden the plastic.
During this process, Atkinson diverted incoming creek flow to provide dry conditions needed for the re-lining operation. The work occurred at night when cool conditions protected the plastic from hardening prematurely.
On the night of July 15, 2009, an unexpected flow of groundwater interfered with the process. Michel’s blocked the flow with an inflatable plug that later failed, allowing water to flow along the re-lining project and wash out some of the resin, which entered Trail Creek. The chemical release was not reported.
The next morning, citizens using city park trails along the creek reported chemical odors to the City of Bellevue, which alerted Ecology. Ecology investigators found resin in the creek and observed a rainbow sheen on the water surface in some areas, white milky water in others, and putty-like chunks in the water. They also noted dead crayfish and other organisms in the creek. Trail Creek flows to Mercer Slough, which empties into Lake Washington.
Ecology determined that the resin contained a mixture of substances including mineral oil and styrene, which is toxic to crayfish and other aquatic crustaceans.
Michel’s and Atkinson hired environmental firms to perform cleanup work along the creek. That evening – July 16 – Michel’s inserted a second 200-foot lining. The sheath became snagged during installation, and the company used water to free it. The water forced open plugs meant to contain it, thus discharging into the creek. The release occurred at 7:30 a.m. July 17, and was reported to Ecology by WSDOT at 8:06 a.m.
The City of Bellevue Parks Department closed trails around the spill as a precaution to prevent citizen exposure to toxic compounds. Styrene odor remained in the area until at least July 24. An Ecology water sample, taken that day, detected styrene in creek water.
“WSDOT and the contractors cooperated fully with Ecology after becoming aware of the human health and environmental threat posed by these spills,” said David Byers, who supervises Ecology’s spill response team. “However, the damage to the creek could have been minimized if workers had taken precautions to intercept any releases that might occur. Given the toxicity of substances involved, this should have been standard practice.”
Ecology’s penalty issued to Michel’s addresses the two releases and the failure to report the first incident. In a separate warning, Ecology has informed WSDOT that it failed to ensure that Atkinson and Michel’s provide safeguards to keep possible releases from entering the creek, as required in WSDOT’s construction stormwater general permit.
“Michel’s takes environmental stewardship very seriously on every job and has a solid environmental record,” said David Stegeman, Vice President of Michel’s Corporation. “We have completed projects of this type for over 20 years in Washington and across North America, and have never had a similar release. Some unusual circumstances appear to have come together to cause this incident. Regardless, we have put in place new procedures to insure that this type of incident will be prevented in the future.”
“We take these environmental violations very seriously,” said Denise Cieri, I-405 Deputy Project Director. “We’ve implemented new best management practices to ensure this won’t happen again”
Michel’s may file an application for relief with Ecology or appeal the fine directly to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board within 30 days. The company has indicated it plans to pursue one of these options.
Ecology’s spill response and water quality programs investigated these incidents as part of the department’s ongoing commitment to protect the public and the environment from toxic threats.
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Media Contacts: Larry Altose, Ecology media relations, 206-920-2600
David Byers, Ecology Spill Prevention, Preparedness and Response Program,
360-407-6974
David Stegeman, Vice President of Business Administration, Michel’s Pipe
Services, 920-924-4328
Lloyd Brown, WSDOT media relations, 360-705-7076
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
