$500,000 penalty – $3 million on restoration projects
The Port of Tacoma and two contractors have agreed to pay a $500,000 penalty and restorewetland habitat at an estimated cost of over $3 million to compensate for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act that damaged valuable Puget Sound wetlands, according to a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Justice.
In 2008, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers discovered that the Port of Tacoma hired a contractor to raze vegetation and destroyed more than four acres of wetlands in Hylebos Marsh, an area that provided important wildlife habitat and enhanced Puget Sound water quality.
The contractor performed the work at the direction of the Port of Tacoma, which had been working to eradicate vineyard snails from Hylebos Marsh with guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. An order from USDA stated that plowing and grading to deal with the invasive snail species was acceptable in non-wetland areas only.
The Clean Water Act prohibits discharge of pollutants to the waters of the United States, including certain wetlands, except as authorized by a permit. The Port of Tacoma did not have required Clean Water Act permits to conduct work in the wetlands.
The Port of Tacoma has agreed to spend an estimated $3 million on restoration projects.
