June 11, 1998
By Ryan Teague Beckwith - Daily World Writer
The dispute over a release of mud and debris into the Wishkah River at the height of salmon spawning season just got messier.
Aberdeen's public works director, Jim Robertson, upped the ante Wednesday night when he told the City Council that the city's plans for a $13.1-million water treatment plant should be put on hold indefinitely.
In response, the council authorized City Attorney Eric Nelson to file appeals on a $10,000 fine from state environmental regulators over the debris release.
The incident occurred April 1 when water was released from the Malinowski Dam at the Wishkah Headworks so that workers could repair a broken sluice gate.
The Department of Ecology charged that the ensuing rush of silty water probably killed large numbers of juvenile coho, chinook and steelhead and destroyed fish eggs.
In an appeal, Robertson said the fine has "seriously impaired the (city's) ability ... to operate the Malinowski Dam in a manner consistent with protecting public safety."
The city attorney agreed. "Robertson's right, it really would throw a monkey wrench into the whole domestic water system on the Wishkah," Nelson said this morning.
Robertson argued that the city depends on the Wishkah River, the sole source for its domestic water system, and that the fine and accompanying orders undermine that supply.
The orders from the Department of Ecology would delay the treatment plant for at least two years while the city redesigns the project and finds a new water source, he said.
Nelson said going along with Ecology's orders would be heading down a dangerous path for the city.
"If we commit to doing this stuff because it's the right thing to do, then are we conceding to DOE that they have the authority to order it (in the future) if we don't?" the city attorney asked.
Robertson also criticized the Department of Ecology's statements on the release of water, saying that the words "tons of mud and debris" were unsubstantiated and that the language was "alarmist, speculative and inaccurate rhetoric."
He said no evidence of any dead fish had been presented to the city. "Only conjecture and opinion have surfaced," he said in the appeal.
Dan Guy, regional habitat manager for the Department of Fish & Wildlife, said he had not seen a copy of the city's written response, but that he interpreted comments attributed to Robertson as "a level of blackmail."
"What are they saying, 'If you don't let us send muddy water down the river we're not going to use our plant?' " he asked. "If that's the position he and the city have taken, there's no comment. We'll settle it through the litigation process." Sandy Rudnick, a spokesperson for the Department of Ecology, also reserved comment.
"This just needs to go through the process," she said. "We'll just see how it falls out. I can't really say anything beyond that."
Nelson said he is trying to arrange an informal meeting between city officials and Department of Ecology representatives to resolve the dispute.
"I don't know if we'll find common ground," the city attorney said. But Nelson added that he thinks it is important to try, particularly since the city already faces other directives from the Department of Ecology and the Department of Health on the dam and the Stafford Creek Corrections Center project.
"There's no attempt to prioritize these things," he said. "That's really disturbing to me and I think it bothers the city administration as well." The city attorney estimated the appeals process could take anywhere from 90 to 180 days, though it could be sped up if all sides agree to ask for a swifter review. Rudnick said it could take up to a year, but that the two sides could settle with each other without a hearing before then.
Officials with the Department of Fish & Wildlife said they have asked county prosecutors to consider pressing criminal charges against Robertson for violating state water-protection laws.
But county prosecutor Stew Menefee said he has not received any requests on possible charges.
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