Army may have piped oil into Sound

TACOMA – The state has asked the Army to prevent oil from getting into Puget Sound, after it was discovered that Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base may have flushed oil through their sewage system.

State and federal environmental officials learned of the problem last year after up to 2 percent of oil was found in sewage sludge at a treatment plant.

The state Ecology Department wants the Army to sign an agreement saying it will work to prevent oil from getting into the Sound.

The treatment plant flushes about 5 million gallons of treated wastewater every day, said Tom Eaton of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates the plant.

But it isn’t designed to filter oil, and it’s not clear how much has flowed into the Sound through its pipe for treated wastewater, which extends into the Sound north of the Nisqually River.

It’s estimated to have been about 5 gallons a day, according to current and former plant employees who late last year filed a federal whistle-blower complaint about plant operations.

“It’s a grave concern to the state because Fort Lewis discharges directly into Puget Sound,” Ecology spokeswoman Sandy Howard said.

Fort Lewis hasn’t decided whether to sign the agreement. Officials said they’re already working to stop oil from reaching the pipes, noting that the plant – which also takes effluent from the Air Force base – complies with its federal permit.

“There’s not much oil going out in our effluent,” said Phil Crawford, chief of environmental compliance at Fort Lewis’ public-works department. “The numbers we’ve got don’t indicate a problem.”

Poor maintenance may have been part of the problem, state Ecology inspector Pinky Feria said.

In spring 2006, Feria visited the post and found that oil-water separators that trap oil were only being emptied once a year, and one was broken and hadn’t been repaired in three years.

Feria also found diesel fuel in the separators, which suggests the fuel was being dumped there rather than being properly disposed.

“I think that there’s a big enough arrow that’s pointing in that direction,” she said.

That allegation is unfounded, said Paul Steucke, head of Fort Lewis’ environmental division in the public-works department.