Department of Ecology News Release - March 16, 2018

Environmental penalties for fourth quarter 2017

LACEY –

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 Update: Penalty rescinded; restoration is now occurring and a conservation covenant is in place.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 360-407-6239
Clark	Washougal	5/4/2017	All Weather Wood (TrueGuard)	Stormwater runoff exceeded hexavalent chromium effluent permit limit.	$6,000	Dave Bennett 360-407-6239
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 509-329-3478
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

Contact information

Joye Redfield-Wilder

Communications manager

joye.redfield-wilder@ecy.wa.gov

509-575-2610

Twitter: EcyCentral

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Environmental penalties for fourth quarter 2017

Penalties for October-December 2017

Missing penalty from July-September 2017

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