Washington State Department of Ecology
09/03/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/03/2026 14:33
Environmental penalties issued for first half of 2026
OLYMPIA -
The Washington Department of Ecology issued $2,377,824 in penalties of $1,000 or more from Jan. 1, 2026 - June 30, 2026. $1,382,556 of that total was issued in the first quarter and $995,268 in the second quarter. A detailed list of the violations and resulting penalties is in the table below.
Ecology works with thousands of businesses and individuals to help them comply with state laws. Penalties are issued in cases where non-compliance continues after Ecology has provided technical assistance or warnings, or for particularly serious violations.
The money owed from penalties may be reduced from the issued amount due to settlement or court rulings. Funds collected go to the state's general fund or to dedicated pollution prevention accounts.
Ecology strives to protect, preserve, and enhance Washington's environment and promote wise management for current and future generations. When someone pollutes Washington's land, air or waters, Ecology enforces state and federal regulations in hopes of changing behavior and deterring future violations.
|
County |
City |
Date issued |
Recipient |
Description |
Amount |
Media contact |
|
Adams |
Lind |
06/10/2026 |
Diamond RS Ranch & DTV LLC, James Ritter |
Causing or permitting the burning of prohibited materials in an outdoor fire. |
$2,000 |
509-202-5674 |
|
Benton |
Kennewick |
03/03/2026 |
Agrium U.S. Inc. |
Nutrien, DBA Agrium, failed to meet the required sampling frequency for the flow, nitrate, and nitrite parameters on their 2025 annual Discharge Monitoring Report for the Finley facility. |
$2,500 |
360-791-9830 |
|
Chelan |
Wenatchee |
03/31/2026 |
Alondra Edson |
Penalty issued for illegal outdoor burning inside the urban growth area, burning prohibited materials, leaving a fire unattended, and causing smoke that impacted air quality. |
$7,500 |
509-571-0352 |
|
Chelan |
Wenatchee |
04/20/2026 |
Bob Harvey, Stemlit Growers LLC |
Stemlit personnel intentionally pumped a sump containing fresh water into a stormwater catch basin draining directly to the Columbia River. The water contained approximately five gallons of oily waste, generating a sheen on the river. |
$1,600 |
360-515-6868 |
|
Chelan |
Peshastin |
03/20/2026 |
Virk Xpress |
On Dec. 17, 2024, a semi-truck being driven for Virk Xpress Inc. crashed into a roadside ditch on US 97 and spilled approximately 80 gallons of diesel around milepost 170. The company did not notify Ecology or take any cleanup action until April 1, 2025, allowing the spilled diesel to impact Tronsen Creek and a small, unnamed tributary for over 140 days. |
$4,000 |
360-515-6868 |
|
Chelan |
Cashmere |
05/18/2026 |
Martha Guerrero |
Penalty issued for burning prohibited materials in unattended fires, conducting land-clearing burning without a burn permit, and causing smoke that impacted air quality. |
$9,000 |
509-571-0352 |
|
Chelan |
Chelan |
02/17/2026 |
Carlos Uvalle, Lake Chelan Tree Service LLC |
Penalty issued to Lake Chelan Tree Service LLC for burning prohibited materials in an illegal outdoor fire. The fire was on property owned by Carlos Uvalle. It caused smoke that impacted air quality and violated the conditions of a burn permit. |
$8,000 |
509-571-0352 |
|
Clark |
Vancouver |
04/02/2026 |
City of Vancouver |
An Ecology inspection found the City of Vancouver was not complying with requirements for corrosion protection or walkthrough inspections at one of its underground storage tank facilities. |
$1,800 |
360-791-1939 |
|
Cowlitz |
Longview |
01/20/2026 |
North Pacific Paper Co LLC |
Violation of daily maximum and monthly average five-day biochemical oxygen demand limit at a water outfall. |
$2,000 |
360-791-9830 |
|
Cowlitz |
Longview |
03/17/2026 |
Weyerhaeuser Longview |
Exceedance of semi-annual non-condensable gas venting. |
$5,500 |
360-791-9830 |
|
Cowlitz |
Kelso |
06/18/2026 |
Veneer Chip Transport Inc. |
Veneer Chip Transport Inc. has failed to submit quarterly monitoring reports for its stormwater discharge for over a year. |
$3,000 |
360-791-1939 |
|
Douglas |
East Wenatchee |
01/06/2026 |
Abril Reyes |
Penalty issued for illegal outdoor burning inside an urban growth area, causing smoke that impacted air quality. Ecology received complaints about illegal burning violations on five separate days between October 2024 and March 2025. |
$4,000 |
509-571-0352 |
|
King |
Kent |
05/14/2026 |
David (Devendra) Malik |
There have been repeated violations of state and federal regulations related to underground storage tanks at the Central Chevron and Kangley Chevron gas stations in Kent. |
$42,587 |
360-819-6247 |
|
King |
Seattle |
02/12/2026 |
Seattle Barrel Co. |
This barrel refurbishing business did not respond to an administrative order to correct dangerous waste violations. |
$150,000 |
206-920-2600 |
|
King |
Seattle |
02/17/2026 |
Leah Peisner |
On March 30, 2024, a liveaboard tugboat sank at Seattle Marina in Lake Union, spilling 478 gallons of diesel to Lake Union and impacting wildlife. |
$2,000 |
360-515-6868 |
|
King |
Seattle |
02/20/2026 |
Mark Williamson, Western Towboat Co. |
A drive failure on a vessel led to 120 gallons of hydraulic oil spilling to the Duwamish Waterway. The spilled oil was unrecoverable. |
$1,000 |
360-515-6868 |
|
King |
Seattle |
05/04/2026 |
John Skaar |
On May 14, 2024, FV North American sank at the OBI Seafoods dock in Seattle. Oil was released into the Lake Washington Ship Canal. |
$6,000 |
360-515-6868 |
|
King |
Seattle |
05/13/2026 |
Signature Aviation, Shultz, Inc., Sky Services, and King County |
Four organizations failed to pay 10 years' worth of back fees related to underground storage tanks at King County International Airport - Boeing Field. |
$19,681 |
206-920-2600 |
|
King |
Kent |
05/21/2026 |
David (Devendra) Malik |
An Ecology inspection of a gas station owned by David Malik found the business was not properly monitoring for fuel leaks and had failed to conduct required testing of overfill prevention equipment. |
$1,200 |
206-920-2600 |
|
King |
Vashon Island |
02/20/2026 |
Alexander Black |
Between Feb. 23 and April 25, 2025, Ecology received multiple reports of sheening surrounding the sunken vessel PC Helicity, including footage of gasoline escaping the vessel. Owner Alexander Black failed to make notifications of the spill, take action to mitigate the spill, or remove the vessel. |
$3,600 |
360-515-6868 |
|
King |
Vashon Island |
05/04/2026 |
Robert Christmas |
On June 10, 2025, Ecology received a report of an abandoned vessel on Vashon Island's Spring Beach. At least one quart of lubricating oil was spilled. The owner did not notify anyone of the spill or take any steps to contain, collect, or remove the oil. |
$3,000 |
360-515-6868 |
|
Kittitas |
Ellensburg |
04/07/2026 |
Gary Singh |
Owner or operator did not provide an operator certification, which is required for personnel responsible for managing underground storage tanks. The owner or operator did not fill out monthly walkthrough inspections and failed to maintain release detection records demonstrating compliance with state laws. |
$2,000 |
509-571-0352 |
|
Lewis |
Chehalis |
04/28/2026 |
County L Farms LLC, Jerry Foster, Nicole Foster |
The Fosters were paid $1.3 million to safely dispose of slaughterhouse wastewater but instead dumped millions of gallons of untreated wastewater onto land near the Chehalis River. |
$876,000 |
360-791-1939 |
|
Pierce |
Tacoma |
02/13/2026 |
Sager Family Homes |
Sager Family Homes is developing the New Fife Heights project near Tacoma. The business was issued a penalty for violations of its construction stormwater permit, including uncontrolled discharges of wastewater from washing out equipment. |
$2,000 |
360-791-1939 |
|
Pierce |
Tacoma |
05/04/2026 |
Tacoma Public Utilities |
On June 4, 2024, personnel at Tacoma Public Utilities spilled 570 gallons of mineral oil while transferring it from a transformer to a tank truck. Approximately 480 gallons entered the stormwater system and impacted a wetland area north of the spill site. |
$8,000 |
360-515-6868 |
|
Skagit |
Anacortes |
02/20/2026 |
Foss Maritime |
On Sept. 29, 2025, the Tug Lindsey Foss, owned and operated by Foss Maritime, spilled approximately 10 gallons of transmission fluid to Fidalgo Bay. Foss Maritime made all necessary state and contingency plan notifications, but outside the mandated one-hour time standard. |
$2,800 |
360-515-6868 |
|
Snohomish |
02/20/2026 |
Snohomish River Boat Launch |
On July 23, 2024, a sunken recreational vessel, owned by Caleb Maki, released approximately one gallon of gasoline to the Snohomish River. Caleb Maki did not make any necessary notification or take any action to collect, contain, or remove the spilled oil and sunken vessel. |
$3,000 |
360-515-6868 |
|
|
Spokane |
03/13/2026 |
Zelham Inc |
A leaking forklift operated by Zelham Inc. spilled approximately three gallons of hydraulic oil to the Spokane River. Zelham Inc. did not immediately make required notifications about the spill, despite being instructed to do so by Ecology responders. |
$1,200 |
360-515-6868 |
|
|
Spokane |
Spokane |
04/28/2026 |
Sandeep Kaur |
Failure to comply with multiple requirements for registration, licensing, fees, compliance tags, corrosion protection, release detection, and financial responsibility. |
$1,900 |
509-202-5674 |
|
Stevens |
Valley |
04/16/2026 |
Shauna Alwine, Joshua Alwine |
Violation of procedure for appropriation of surface water. |
$5,000 |
509-202-5674 |
|
Thurston |
Olympia |
04/02/2026 |
LGI Homes |
LGI Homes is developing the Hewitt Lake Heights project near Olympia. The business was issued a penalty for violations of its construction stormwater permit, including uncontrolled discharges of concrete wastewater. |
$1,000 |
360-791-1939 |
|
Thurston |
Olympia |
06/22/2026 |
Brumfield Construction |
Brumfield Construction leases the former Bay Marine yard on Budd Inlet. The business failed to submit required quarterly monitoring reports for its stormwater discharge for over a year. |
$3,000 |
360-791-1939 |
|
Walla Walla |
Wallula |
04/15/2026 |
Packaging Corporation of America |
Facility caused or allowed particulate matter emissions above the limits in their air operating permit and in federal regulation. |
$8,500 |
360-791-9830 |
|
03/16/2026 |
Walmart Inc. |
Walmart sold air conditioning recharge cans containing climate super pollutants that have been banned in the state of Washington. |
$383,388 |
564-669-8947 |
||
|
03/16/2026 |
Amazon.com Services LLC |
Amazon sold air conditioning recharge cans containing climate super pollutants that have been banned in the state of Washington. |
$800,068 |
564-669-8947 |
Washington State Department of Ecology published this content on September 03, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 03, 2026 at 20:33 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]