The U.S Environmental Protection Agency announced that Electron Hydro, LLC, and its Chief Operating Officer, Thom Fischer, have agreed to pay a $1,025,000 civil penalty for major violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA).
Electron Hydro operates a hydroelectric facility on the Puyallup River. In late July 2020, Electron Hydro workers placed artificial turf and crumb rubber that contain toxic chemicals into the riverbed. The company did not receive permission to use the field turf or crumb rubber on the project.
The violations stem from the illegal installation this artificial turf and the subsequent release of the turf and the crumb rubber it contained into the river. Turf has been found at least 5,000 feet from the site, and crumb rubber has been found at least 19 miles downstream. Recovery of all the discharged material is not possible.
Artificial turf contains toxic compounds, including plasticizers, zinc and lead. Crumb rubber is made from waste tires that contain the chemical 6PPD. When 6PPD reacts with ozone, it forms 6PPD-q, which is toxic to salmon, trout and many other fish and aquatic species and is known to be lethal to coho salmon. The Puyallup River, which flows into Puget Sound, is home to chinook salmon, bull trout and steelhead trout, all of which are protected under the Endangered Species Act. The river is also home to coho, chum and pink salmon, as well as cutthroat trout.
“Sadly, Electron Hydro’s and Mr. Fischer’s unfathomable violations will have lasting environmental impact on the Puyallup River and the fish and wildlife that rely on it,” said Ed Kowalski, director of the Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division in EPA’s Region 10 office in Seattle. “Payment of this major penalty cannot undo the damage. However, the additional work required by this settlement represents a significant step toward restoring our precious water resources and should serve as a strong reminder that EPA will exact significant sanctions, monetary and otherwise, from those who ignore their legal responsibilities to protect our water resources.”
In its investigation, EPA also discovered that for many years Electron Hydro violated the conditions of the Washington Department of Ecology’s Construction Stormwater General Permit by failing to update its Notice of Intent to reflect the true size of the construction area; provide secondary containment for equipment containing fuel; implement and/or maintain required best management practices; adequately conduct and/or document inspections; maintain records on-site; and timely submit discharge monitoring reports.
The company’s failure to comply with the permit conditions may have resulted in environmental harm due to discharge of pollutants such as sediment, phosphorus and petroleum products from the construction site to the Puyallup River, EPA said.
In November 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint in federal court. After multiple successful rulings, EPA and the Department of Justice negotiated a CWA settlement with Electron Hydro and Fischer, which is memorialized in the new Consent Decree. In addition to paying the $1,025,000 penalty, the company and Fischer agreed to perform injunctive relief that will benefit the Puyallup River and/or redress the harms from their CWA violations. Specifically, they agree to:
Implement comprehensive turf management requirements to ensure as much turf as possible is recovered from the environment, including establishing a phone line and web reporting tools for members of the public to report artificial turf observed;
- Hire an independent third-party contractor to evaluate operations covered by the Construction Stormwater General Permit, implement all recommended stormwater best management practices and publish stormwater compliance information to a public website;
- Preserve in perpetuity about 70 acres of land along the Puyallup River that provide valuable salmon habitat;
- Hire an independent third-party contractor to evaluate the company’s new plans to complete the failed 2020 construction project and submit the contractor’s evaluation to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and
- Forgo hydroelectric operations until they remove thousands of yards of rock placed in the river in October 2020.
