Pierce County dam operator hit with big fine for polluting Puyallup River with field turf
The Washington state Department of Ecology fined a Puyallup River dam operator $501,000 on June 8 for polluting the river with field turf last summer.
“These toxic materials had no place in the river,” Ecology director Laura Watson said in a statement. “The force of the water tore the turf apart, washed it down river, and sent it right into the food web. This is an environmental tragedy that didn’t have to happen.”
Workers at the Electron Hydro dam near Orting put field turf under a plastic lining in the bed of the Puyallup River while working on a construction project last July. The river lifted the lining, and field turf was carried away by the current.
Electron Hydro’s chief operations officer Thom Fischer previously told The News Tribune the incident was a “one-time screw up” and agreed the government should investigate.
“I’m going to listen to them and the (Puyallup) Tribe and the county,” Fischer told The News Tribune in November. “They are all concerned and rightly so, but so are we. Together we could accomplish a lot to make this project the model of how things should operate.”
Ecology officials said there was continual discharge of turf for 92 days and calculated the fine accordingly, according to the civil penalty.
The dam operator plans to appeal the penalty, according to a statement provided by independent consultant for Electron Hydro, Lois Schwennesen.
Electron Hydro contests the state’s 92 days of violation, saying Electron was under stop-work orders and didn’t have permission to enter the Puyallup River on 70 of those days.
“The sole purpose of the voluntary construction Electron began last summer, with the support of the tribe and agencies, was to make a better project that protects all fish life and responds to legislative policy seeking a carbon-free power grid to combat climate change,” the dam operator’s statement said.
The Puyallup Tribe, which has filed a lawsuit against Electron Hydro, said the fine is a step in the right direction to protect water and fish. An injunction was filed by the tribe with the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington on May 20 to stop dam operations.
“It is not the only step. We lose fish year after year. They begin life on the mountain and get chewed up by Electron Dam. Those that survive go down the river – now polluted by crumb rubber – and out to the bay, where they are greeted by multiple superfund sites,” tribal Chairman Bill Sterud said in a statement. “Enough is enough.”
Electron Hydro performed aquatic test results on the turf material released in the Puyallup River. Schwennesen said results showed that the turf material is not toxic to fish.
The tribe has called for the dam to be removed, as has Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier.
Other lawsuits have been filed against the company for the turf mishap. Citizens for a Healthy Bay and Puget Soundkeeper Alliance filed a lawsuit in March, and the U.S Justice Department filed a lawsuit in November.
Last July, the dam company began a construction project to upgrade its diversion system that was intended to protect fish. The diversion system redirects water from the Puyallup River into a wooden flume that travels down to the dam, creating power.
Fischer told The News Tribune in September the objective of the upgrade was to ensure no fish got trapped in the diversion system and ultimately in the dam.
While crews worked on the diversion system in the riverbed, a portion of the river had to be shifted to a bypass channel. The turf was placed between linings in a river bypass created by Electron Hydro crews.
They added plastic linings and artificial turf to seal the river into the bypass and prevent water from leaking into the work area, Fischer said.
The artificial turf was added last minute to prevent the plastic liner from puncturing on sharp rocks in the bypass, he told The News Tribune. The decision was not permitted nor cleared by Pierce County.
When the diversion began, the liner in the bypass slid and tore. A plastic lining and portions of the artificial turf, made of vehicle tires, were carried away by the current in August.
Fischer said in November that Electron crews have recovered almost all of the synthetic turf. Schwennesen said Electron Hydro has an ongoing commitment to keep looking for leftover turf.
This story was originally published June 9, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
