AG pushing for largest environmental fine in Washington history

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson wants a hydropower company to pay a $1 million penalty for dumping two football fields worth of artificial turf into the Puyallup River.

The AG's office says, if approved, this would be the largest fine and restitution for an environmental crime in Washington's history.

The turf and plastic liner was placed in the Puyallup River during a construction project in 2020. The liner ripped. Turf and shredded tire bits spread downriver for two weeks, as far as Commencement Bay in Tacoma. Such materials are toxic. The AG's office says this violated the state's Water Pollution Control Act, Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Code, Shoreline Management Act, and Pierce County's local code.

RELATED: Dam owner pleads guilty after spilling turf, tire bits in Puyallup River

Electron Hydro, LLC, which operates a hydropower plant on the Puyallup River, has already pled guilty to a gross misdemeanor for operating an unlawful hydraulic project. A judge still has to sign off on the penalty amount. The company was ordered to pay another half million dollars to improve salmon habitat in the river.

Most of the potential penalty money, $745,000, would go to help restore the river. Pierce County would get $255,000.

“When I took office, very few environmental crimes were criminally prosecuted,” Ferguson said in a statement. “I created our Environmental Protection Division to take on bad actors who endanger our shared environment. Electron Hydro and (CEO) Thom Fischer’s reckless conduct damaged this waterway and put species like salmon at risk. My office will hold accountable any companies that pollute our rivers, put aquatic life at risk and endanger the health of communities.”

Company officials were not immediately available for comment.