Wednesday November 9, 2022
Washington Department of Ecology —
Electron Hydro LLC will pay a reduced penalty and contribute to a water quality and fish habitat improvement project under a settlement agreement with the Washington Department of Ecology.
The settlement is a result of violations that took place when Electron, without approval, used discarded sports turf from an athletic field and placed it in a river channel bypass to act as a liner cushion during construction activities in the summer of 2020. The velocity of the river soon swept the turf away, releasing plastic fragments and crumb rubber miles downstream.
Ecology fined Electron $501,000 after sports turf broke away from an in-stream construction site in eastern Pierce County in late July 2020. Pieces of sports turf were found up to 21 miles downstream. Deposits of ground-up tire rubber — used as padding for the turf — were believed to extend to the river’s mouth and possibly into Commencement Bay in Tacoma, 41 miles downstream.
The turf and its crumb rubber padding material are harmful to fish and other aquatic life. Puyallup River steelhead, bull trout and Chinook salmon, a critical food source for southern resident orcas, are all protected under the Endangered Species Act.