The Washington Department of Ecology issued $784,796 in penalties of $1,000 or more for the months of October through December 2017.
Ecology works with thousands of businesses and individuals to help them comply with state laws. Penalties are issued in cases where non-compliance continues after Ecology has provided technical assistance or warnings, or for particularly serious violations.
Funds collected go to the state’s general fund or to dedicated pollution prevention accounts, such as the Coastal Protection Account. The money owed from penalties may be reduced from the issued amount due to settlement or court rulings.
Ecology strives to protect, preserve and enhance Washington’s environment and promote wise management for current and future generations. When someone pollutes Washington’s land, air or waters, Ecology enforces state and federal regulations in hopes of changing behavior and deterring future violations.
Penalties for October-December 2017
| County | City | Issue Date | Recipient | Violation Description | Amount | Media Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams | Othello | 12/6/2017 | Columbia Fruit Packers Inc | Illegally disposed metal, oil filters and chemical container by burning in an outdoor area 15 feet by 15 feet. | $1,500 | Brook Beeler 509-329-3478 |
| Adams | Ritzville | 12/12/2017 | Randy and Michele Kiesz | Landowners Randy and Michele Kiesz, as well as lessee Ron Fode, were fined $309,000 for illegally irrigating 335 acres of alfalfa and potatoes. Penalty appealed. News release | $309,000 | Brook Beeler 509-329-3478 |
| Clark | Battle Ground | 12/13/2017 | Gold Medal Group, LLC and Dennis Pavlina | Fined for failing to restore wetlands as ordered in 2007 to mitigate for wetlands destroyed during previous land development. Update: Penalty rescinded; restoration is now occurring and a conservation covenant is in place. News release | $17,000 | Dave Bennett 360-407-6239 |
| Grant | Moses Lake | 12/12/2017 | Landowners Michael Schmidt, et al., c/o Ronald Sparks and lessee Ron Fode | Landowners Michael Schmidt, et al. and lessee Ron Fode were fined $103,000 for illegally irrigating 65 acres of alfalfa. Penalty appealed. News release | $103,000 | Brook Beeler 509-329-3478 |
| Grant | Moses Lake | 12/12/2017 | Ron Fode | Landowner Ron Fode was fined $206,000 for illegally irrigating 130 acres of timothy hay. Penalty appealed. News release | $206,000 | Brook Beeler 509-329-3478 |
| King | Bothell | 12/21/2017 | Pacific Ridge – DRH, LLC | Discharged muddy water from a construction project into North Creek on Oct. 2, 2017. Failed to notify Ecology. Later, stopped the discharge until on-site treatment installed and operational. Penalty appealed. | $8,000 | Larry Altose 425-649-7009 |
| King | Bellevue | 10/2/2017 | Kuney Construction Co. | Discharged turbid water and process waste water from drilling operations into Kelsey Creek and associated wetlands. Penalty paid. | $2,000 | Larry Altose 425-649-7009 |
| King | Seattle | 10/10/2017 | Total Reclaim Inc. | Illegally stored hundreds of thousands of pounds of flat screen TVs and monitors in dozens of semi-trailers parked on Harbor Island. Washington law requires e-waste to be recycled or disposed of as dangerous waste in a timely manner. News release | $67,500 | Andrew Wineke 360-407-6149 |
| Kitsap | Bainbridge Island | 12/12/2017 | Cooke Aquaculture, LLC | Without water quality protections in place, Cooke Aquaculture Pacific repeatedly cleaned dirty equipment and discharged polluted wastewater into Puget Sound. Cooke operates commercial Atlantic salmon net pens in Washington state. News release | $8,000 | Jessica Payne 360-791-3177 |
| Klickitat | Goldendale | 11/30/2017 | Goldendale Market Place, LLC | Failed to comply with recordkeeping/reporting requirements ($100), release detection ($600) and release reporting ($500) requirements at fueling station operations. | $1,200 | Joye Redfield-Wilder 509-575-2610 |
| Mason | Shelton | 11/29/2017 | Sierra Pacific Industries; Curt Adcock | Discharged oil-laden stormwater from site to Oakland Bay, during construction activities adjacent to waters edge. | $3,000 | Dave Bennett 360-407-6239 |
| Okanogan | Loomis | 12/14/2017 | Greg Newmarch | Unauthorized construction along the shoreline and in the water of Palmer Lake in Okanogan County. Penalty has been appealed. News release | $21,600 | Joye Redfield-Wilder 509-575-2610 |
| Pierce | Sumner | 12/5/2017 | Sonoco Products Sumner facility | Failed to sample stormwater at outfall during first fall storm as required under stormwater discharge permit. No such sampling occurred for the year 2016. | $1,000 | Dave Bennett 360-407-6239 |
| Skagit | Burlington | 10/17/2017 | VT Volant Aerospace LLC | Paid $37,996 to settle violations for mishandling dangerous waste and for a spill that occurred in 2015. News release | $37,996 | Larry Altose 425-649-7009 |
Missing penalty from July-September 2017
| County | City | Issue Date | Recipient | Violation Description | Amount | Media Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clark | Camas | 9/26/2017 | Georgia Pacific Consumer Products | Released about 466 gallons of diesel to the Camas Slough from the Georgia-Pacific mill in Camas, Washington. | $1,000 |
Dave Bennett |
| Clark | Washougal | 5/4/2017 | All Weather Wood (TrueGuard) |
Stormwater runoff exceeded hexavalent chromium effluent permit limit. | $6,000 |
Dave Bennett |
| King | 8/24/2017 | Washington Department of Transportation and Flatiron West, Inc. | Allowed concrete debris to fall into Lake Washington in 2015 and 2016 during demolition of old freeway structures in the path of the new SR 520 West Approach Bridge North segment. Penalty paid |
$6,000 | Larry Altose 425-649-7009 |
|
| Spokane | Spokane | 9/27/2017 | QWIK Stop | Failed to comply with reporting, training, and environmental protection requirements for underground storage tanks. All violations have been corrected. Penalty paid. | $1,100 |
Brook Beeler |
| Whatcom | Ferndale | 8/14/2017 | Intalco Aluminum Corp. | Fined a combined $32,500 for air quality permit violations, including potline emission violations ($27,500) and separate violations related to a fire at the smelter ($5,000). The penalty has been paid. News Release | $32,500 | Ty Keltner 360-255-4405 |