King County fined $361,000 over West Point treatment-plant failure
The Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) hit King County with $361,000 in fines and massive improvement requirements to the West Point Treatment Plant that could cost an additional $1 million after the plant’s catastrophic failure Feb. 9.
In the largest penalty for a publicly owned treatment plant, DOE’s investigation determined inadequate maintenance, reliability issues and lack of backup equipment as well as lack of employee training led to the plant’s damage and dumping of untreated wastewater into the Puget Sound.
“A treatment-plant failure of this magnitude is completely unacceptable,” Ecology Director Maia Bellon stated.
The DOE findings echoed The Seattle Times investigation, published April 28, that detailed employees’ harrowing escape from rushing waters that gravely damaged the sewage-treatment plant. King County dumped an estimated 235 million gallons of untreated wastewater — including 30 million gallons of raw sewage and hundreds of tons of partially treated solids near Seattle’s Discovery Park beach.
Read more: http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/king-county-fined-361000-over-west-point-treatment-plant-failure/
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