FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Sept. 16, 1999 99-182 Contact: Sandy Howard, public information manager, 360-407-6239; pager 360-786-3136 Cosmopolis chemical-pulp mill fined $10,000 for polluted discharges OLYMPIA - The Weyerhaeuser Company mill at Cosmopolis has been penalized $10,000 by the state Department of Ecology (Ecology) for discharging process wastewater containing more than two times the acceptable standard of fecal coliform bacteria to the lower Chehalis River. The discharge occurred on Aug. 12. It was caused due to problems with the mill's ash clarifier. The ash clarifier separates boiler ash and dewaters it. The presence of fecal coliform bacteria indicates that pathogens may be present that can harm aquatic and human health. As a result of the discharge and due to terms of the facility's wastewater permit, the state Department of Health closed oyster beds in Grays Harbor near Johns River for seven days after the discharge. The fecal coliform problem is not caused by unsanitary conditions at the Cosmopolis mill, according to Cullen Stephenson, who manages Ecology's solid-waste program. Weyerhaeuser is looking for ways to modify its treatment process to make it less conducive to fecal coliform bacteria. "The oyster-growing industry relies on clean water, and that means other industries like pulp mills need to keep their discharges clean enough that oyster growers and other aquatic-based companies can stay in business, too," Stephenson said. The mill manufactures chemical pulp, which is used to make products ranging from film to toothbrush handles.
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