Pulp Mill Faces Second Fine

Sat., July 22, 2000

From Staff

The Weyerhaeuser Co. pulp mill here faces its second fine in less than a year for violating state water-quality standards.

The Department of Ecology fined the mill $20,000 for discharging too much fecal-coliform bacteria into the lower Chehalis River, a major commercial site for shellfish.

On June 16, the mill near Aberdeen released more than twice as much bacteria as the limit allows, causing the Department of Health to close downstream shellfish beds for eight days. Two other incidents did not trigger a closure, but the fine covers all three.

Weyerhaeuser was fined $27,000 for four violations last year, with other violations dating back 1995.

Bacteria have been found in secondary and wastewater treatment systems, but not the manufacturing portion of the plant, said Weyerhaeuser spokeswoman Marian Snyder.

The entire system will be disinfected and a settling pond will be filled with soil, Snyder said. In the past, the mill only cleaned the problem areas.

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