Washington State Department of Ecology
12/12/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/12/2024 12:43
Ecology and EPA are issuing joint penalties to Seattle and King County for sewer overflow violations
Department of Ecology News Release - December 12, 2024
Ecology and EPA are issuing joint penalties to Seattle and King County for sewer overflow violations
SEATTLE -
The Washington Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are jointly issuing penalties to Seattle and King County for violating conditions of the federal consent decrees and state water quality permits that regulate combined sewer overflows from Seattle's sanitary sewer system.
The penalties are for violations that occurred between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023. Seattle's penalty is a total of $71,000: $50,000 for 20 sanitary sewer overflow events and $21,000 for seven wet weather overflows caused by failures to properly operate or maintain their system. King County's penalty totals $46,000: $40,000 for issues at its wet weather treatment stations that treat combined sewer overflow discharges, and $6,000 for two sanitary sewer overflows during wet weather caused by failures to properly operate or maintain their system.
Untreated or insufficiently treated discharges of sewage contain bacteria and other pollutants that can make conditions unsafe for people and animals. Combined sewers carry both stormwater and sewage. The city and county own and operate different parts of the combined sewer infrastructure within Seattle city limits.
Combined sewers were originally built with overflow points called outfalls, which were intended to discharge during large storms. State and federal law requires communities to minimize untreated sewage reaching rivers, lakes, and Puget Sound by eliminating these overflows except in extreme weather circumstances.
Seattle discharges
Ecology and EPA are penalizing the City of Seattle $50,000 for 20 sanitary sewer overflow events. Sanitary sewer overflows are not allowed by the city's discharge permit regardless of the type of weather. Several of the events reached Puget Sound, lakes Washington and Union, the Ship Canal, or the Duwamish River. A number of events resulted in sewage backing up into homes or other buildings.
Ecology and EPA are also penalizing the city $21,000 for seven wet weather overflows from outfalls. They occurred during wet weather but were caused by failures to properly operate or maintain their system.
King County discharges
Ecology and EPA are penalizing King County $40,000 for polluted discharges from its Elliott West, Carkeek, and Alki combined sewer overflow treatment facilities. At various times, the facilities' discharges did not meet disinfection requirements or standards for pH, fecal coliform, residual chlorine, and/or solids that carry pollutants into water.
Ecology and EPA are also penalizing the county $6,000 for two combined sewer overflows. They occurred during wet weather but were caused by failures to properly operate or maintain their system.
These violations do not involve King County's main wastewater treatment plants - Brightwater, South Plant, and West Point - as these facilities are not in the scope of the Consent Decree.
Combined sewer overflow consent decrees
These penalties are required under separate legal agreements called consent decrees that Ecology and EPA negotiated with the City of Seattle and King County in 2013 to settle past violations related to combined sewer overflow discharges. The consent decrees reinforce requirements for the city and county to comply with the state's combined sewer overflow regulations. Each consent decree identifies specific fines for certain types of unpermitted discharges.
Recently Ecology and EPA agreed to modify these agreements to give Seattle and King County more time to develop larger projects that are more resilient to climate change. These modifications shifted the priority of projects to ensure those in the Lower Duwamish area are completed first. The modifications extend the date to control all outfalls to 2037 from the original 2030 date. The modifications also provide greater flexibility for the County and City to adapt their plans as new information becomes available or new opportunities for collaboration arise. The U.S. Department of Justice lodged the modified decrees in federal district court on Nov. 15, 2024; the public may submit comments through Dec. 23, 2024.
The city and county are continuing their work to improve water quality and reduce combined sewer overflows through major infrastructure investments and adjusting maintenance when issues are identified.
Ecology and EPA each will receive half of the penalty payments. Water quality penalty payments to Ecology are placed into the state's Coastal Protection Fund, which provides grants to public agencies and Tribes for water quality restoration projects.
Under the modified consent decrees, Seattle and King County have committed to controlling combined sewer overflows according to state regulations by 2037. While they have completed projects to reduce combined sewer overflow discharges over the last several years, additional work is needed to fully meet state requirements.