Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel has been fined $12,000 by the Department of Ecology for clean water violations in the Ship Canal.
The Department of Ecology says violations by Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel include “ongoing spills of aggregate — a sand and gravel mixture — from shore-side bunkers” at their facility at 5231 Shilshole Avenue NW into the Lake Washington Ship Canal. State law outlaws the discharge of foreign material to state waters. Other violations cited by the department include lack of a spill-response plan at the facility and not having records of required twice-yearly stormwater inspections.
The Department of Ecology says the company did not respond to repeated attempts made last year to discuss the water-quality problem. After a “Notice of Violation” was issued this last February, the company had 30 days to respond. “This case escalated into a penalty because Salmon Bay did not respond,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, the Department of Ecology’s regional water quality supervisor. “Most of the violations themselves require fairly straightforward corrections.” Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel has the option to seek an Ecology review of the penalty or file an appeal within 30 days with the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board.