By Paul Ploumis

ScrapMonster Author

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Washington Department of Ecology has fined Seattle-based Seattle Iron and Metals Corp. for discharge of pollutants into a Superfund site. A fine of $64,000 was imposed on the company for discharge of stormwater containing excessive levels of several pollutants into the Duwamish River in Seattle. The fine was issued on January 26, 2017. The company has 30 days to file a notice of appeal, failing which the case would be heard by the state’s Pollution Control Hearing Board.

According to Washington Department of Ecology, the company holds a water quality permit, whereby it is supposed to have a stringent treatment system in place, capable of removing pollutants from storm water, before they are discharged into the river. However, records indicate that the company was subject to 27 violations of pollution discharge during the period between February 2015 and December 2016. Moreover, the company was cited for four additional violations in June 2016 for discharge of storm water bypassing the water treatment mechanism. Also, Seattle Iron and Metals Corp. had not submitted monitoring reports for the site during the last quarter of 2015.

Heather Bartlett, who manages Washington Department of Ecology’s Water Quality Program stated that the monitoring revealed excessive concentrations of zinc, copper, lead, petroleum compounds, ammonia, and fine particles at significantly higher levels than the permitted levels. Expressing concern over the repeated violations, Bartlett urged the metal recycler facility to meet its permit requirements in order to protect the Duwamish.

Meantime, Alan Sidell, President, Seattle Iron and Metals stated that the company is highly prioritized to meet its environmental responsibilities. The company will work in cooperation with the Department of Ecology to address the storm water quality issues at the facility, Sidell noted. The improvements to its storm water treatment system is currently under design phase and every action would be undertaken towards speedy implementation of the same, Sidell added.

This is not the first incident of violation of water quality standards by the company. Seattle Iron and Metals Corp. had paid $18,000 to the Department of Ecology for similar violations at the same facility in 2014.

The cleanup of the 5-mile long Lower Duwamish Waterway is carried out jointly by the Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The water quality levels are being maintained in support of the cleanup.

Operating since 1922, Seattle Iron & Metals Corporation is a full service metals processor. It receives ferrous and non-ferrous metals from throughout the Northwest including Alaska and Canada. The company website claims that it possesses state-of-the-art equipment to process most metals. According to the company, its advanced processing equipment and extensive environmental safeguards make it one of the Pacific Northwest's leading recyclers of both ferrous and non-ferrous metals.