From the stop order: “The use of astro-turf in a river system where it can break down and discharge potential toxins into the water is not considered a suitable material.”. The turf was intended to function as an underlayment for a plastic liner put on top of it. Share . It is the mountain. Rubber debris already is likely more than 40 miles downriver in Puget Sound. By Nicole Jennings September 15, 2020 at 11:10 am. At least 4 to 6 cubic yards of crumb rubber — each piece about the size of a fat coffee ground — was released to the river, in the pristine upper reaches of the Puyallup, about 6 miles from the boundary with Mount Rainier National Park. Van Giesen in his social media post showed the placement of the artificial turf in a video in which he kicked drifts of black crumb rubber with his shoe to show the volume of rubber debris. Eddie Izzard to use the pronouns 'she' and 'her' “It will always be a fish killer. The run is greatly diminished today to a little over 1,000 fish and was listed for protection in 1999 under the ESA. Fish regularly are entrapped and killed at the dam, long a problem known to regulators. The Puyallup is one of the most polluted rivers in the Puget Sound area, and the contaminants are hurting the river's salmon. “It hurts to see how much damage they are doing to our lands and waters, everyone’s lands and waters.”. This is what ELECTRON HYDRO is putting under the rubber Mats at the temporary spillway,at the head works of the flume on…. Clean water is important … we have one mother Earth and it is being degraded as we speak.”. Immediately downstream of the dam, it lay in streaks of black on the beach. A piece of the artificial turf in the Puyallup River. U.S. Justice Department suing over Puyallup River pollution November 26, 2020 GMT The civil suit was filed against Electron Hydro, LLC, Wednesday at the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. District Court for the Western District, The Seattle Times reported . The department filed the lawsuit Wednesday against Electron Hydro, LLC. The U.S Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Electron Hydro on Wednesday for putting field turf in the riverbed of the Puyallup River while working on a construction project. (Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times), Pieces of rubber from artificial turf used in a retrofit of Electron Dam are found on the banks of the Puyallup River 14 miles down from the dam. Justice Department sues over pollution in Puyallup River. Justice Department sues over pollution in Puyallup River. Facility Operational Puyallup's largest ever public works project, at a total cost of about $27 million, reached a milestone on April 27, 1999, when sewage was re-routed through the City's newly expanded Water Pollution Control Plant. The question now is how to clean up the mess, just weeks before adult chinook salmon listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act are expected to arrive on their homeward journey. Nov. 26, 2020 Updated: Nov. 26, 2020 3:02 p.m. ... LLC, which owns the Electron Hydroelectric Project on the Puyallup River. In black waves, drifts and bands, crumbs of rubber are polluting miles of the Puyallup River after a spill at a dam project last month. Fourteen miles down river, there it was again, in black nubby necklaces around rocks, in bands along the shore, in heaps on the river’s sandy bank. In a statement, the Puyallup Tribe said that Electron Hydro “stranded, suffocated and pulverized thousands of adults and juvenile fish” during construction work this past summer. Lisa Anderson, environmental attorney for the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, said the fine could exceed $10 million. The Seattle Times reports that the Justice Department filed the lawsuit Wednesday against Electron Hydro, LLC, which owns the Electron Hydroelectric Project on the Puyallup River. Posting comments is now limited to subscribers only. Clean Water Act: The Clean Water Act (CWA), as we know it today, came into effect in 1972. This was not the first trouble at Electron Dam. The lawsuit contends the company in July without authorization used old field turf from a dump as a bottom layer when it diverted the river. “To me, my church is the river. “Millions of tiny rubber beads … all washed down the river and are polluting my lifelong fishing holes. The night of July 29, the diverted river — well known for its rock-chucking high flows — ripped pieces of the liner and turf loose, sending hunks of artificial turf and a torrent of loose black crumb rubber downriver. by Associated Press. SEATTLE — The U.S. Justice Department is suing the owners of the Electron dam for violating the Clean Water Act by polluting the Puyallup River. Lisa Anderson, tribal attorney, shook her head and grimaced at the mess. (Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times), Many of the earliest COVID ‘long-haulers’ still suffer; Seattle researchers are trying to figure out why, How to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Seattle, King County and Washington state, Coronavirus daily news updates, January 25: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the world, DNA puts a name to one of the last unidentified victims of the Green River killer, Stealth Navy SEAL training in 28 Washington state parks? We are going to do our best at the tribe to make that happen. Reconstruction at the dam is intended, along with screens and other equipment, to prevent fish and sediment from entering the flume, used to deliver water for the project. by Lynda V. Mapes, The Seattle Times SEATTLE (AP) — The owners of a hydroelectric project in south-central Washington violated the Clean Water Act, the U.S. Department of Justice says in a lawsuit seeking monetary damages and cleanup work. TodayHeadline U.S. files lawsuit over pollution in Puyallup River ... LLC, which owns the Electron Hydroelectric Project on the Puyallup River. Puyallup tribe files federal suit against Electron Dam, citing pollution, fish kills. Share . 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