FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Jan. 22, 2004 04-020 McNeil Island Corrections Center fined over false sewer plant reports BELLEVUE - Monthly reports from the McNeil Island Corrections Center's wastewater treatment plant proved too good to be true, leading the Department of Ecology (Ecology) to issue a $60,000 fine for false reporting and other permit violations. Ecology investigators found false information in 20 of the monthly reports filed during the three years from August 1999 to July 2002. The reports summarize measurements taken to check whether water discharged from the plant contains excessive levels of pollutants. Ecology has suspended a plant employee's wastewater operator certification, and the Department of Corrections (DOC) has placed the worker on administrative leave. DOC also has upgraded and tightened oversight of the treatment plant and is cooperating with Ecology in an ongoing inquiry. "We need honest information to verify that treatment plants are protecting public health and the environment," said Dick Wallace, who manages Ecology's water quality program. "False reporting steals opportunities to fix problems quickly." Wastewater treatment plants operate under permits that require truthful self-reporting. Ecology issues the permits and monitors compliance under state and federal water quality laws. "Recent wastewater treatment plant upgrades have improved McNeil Island's effluent water quality," said Pam Jenkins, director of environmental services for DOC. "The department is committed to achieving and maintaining a high level of environmental compliance at all of our facilities throughout the state." Some of the reports concealed data that showed the plant released up to four times the pollution allowed by its water-quality permit. Other reports understated concentrations that were within permit limits. Some monthly reports omitted data altogether. The false information concealed violations of limits for total suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand and fecal coliform. The limits control the release of pathogens to protect public health and keep pollutants that draw oxygen - needed by fish and other aquatic life - out of the water. DOC may appeal the penalty to Ecology within 15 days and to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board within 30 days.
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