Dept of Ecology to investigate Brightwater
KING COUNTY, Wash. -- A KOMO News investigation has prompted the state to warn the county: clean up your act.
The investigation uncovered evidence of construction spills at one part of the county's new Brightwater Sewage Treatment System. The findings prompted the state Department of Ecology to launch its own investigation of the $2 billion project.
And now, King County knows it has a lot of people watching.
At the Brightwater construction site two underground tunnels are being built here to carry sewage to and from the new treatment plant.
But last July a waste tank overflowed, spilling a muddy mix everywhere. Workers told KOMO News spills were commonplace and put the environment at risk.
"It was almost a daily occurrence," one insider said.
"And we're talking thousands and thousands, and thousands of gallons of this stuff," another insider said.
The tanks contain a variety of waste and chemicals called "slurry," which is used in the tunneling process.
The spill in July was so bad, one insider took video, driving down the driveway to catch the place where the slurry spilled onto the street and, he believes, flowed into Little Swamp Creek.
County inspectors released their only pictures of the spill, which only show the upper portion of the site. King County insists nothing made it into Little Swamp Creek, although they have no photos of the stream, water samples or written reports to document that.
The County also never notified the State about the spill. But with no hard evidence, state inspectors agreed with the county that nothing made it into the stream based on their word.
"Their statements and interviews," said ecology program manager Mark Henley, "But I don't have any reason to believe that they would lie."
But the state is warning King County, saying it did not handle the spill appropriately.
"It's always a disappointment to get a warning letter from the state of Washington," Brightwater Manager Gunars Sreibers. "We feel very strongly that our interest is in protecting the environment."
King County says it is already installing parts to keep any future spills contained, and the county promises that in case of future problems, it will notify the state immediately.
As for the state, it promises to keep a close eye on the Brightwater construction site.
The investigation uncovered evidence of construction spills at one part of the county's new Brightwater Sewage Treatment System. The findings prompted the state Department of Ecology to launch its own investigation of the $2 billion project.
And now, King County knows it has a lot of people watching.
At the Brightwater construction site two underground tunnels are being built here to carry sewage to and from the new treatment plant.
But last July a waste tank overflowed, spilling a muddy mix everywhere. Workers told KOMO News spills were commonplace and put the environment at risk.
"It was almost a daily occurrence," one insider said.
"And we're talking thousands and thousands, and thousands of gallons of this stuff," another insider said.
The tanks contain a variety of waste and chemicals called "slurry," which is used in the tunneling process.
The spill in July was so bad, one insider took video, driving down the driveway to catch the place where the slurry spilled onto the street and, he believes, flowed into Little Swamp Creek.
County inspectors released their only pictures of the spill, which only show the upper portion of the site. King County insists nothing made it into Little Swamp Creek, although they have no photos of the stream, water samples or written reports to document that.
The County also never notified the State about the spill. But with no hard evidence, state inspectors agreed with the county that nothing made it into the stream based on their word.
"Their statements and interviews," said ecology program manager Mark Henley, "But I don't have any reason to believe that they would lie."
But the state is warning King County, saying it did not handle the spill appropriately.
"It's always a disappointment to get a warning letter from the state of Washington," Brightwater Manager Gunars Sreibers. "We feel very strongly that our interest is in protecting the environment."
King County says it is already installing parts to keep any future spills contained, and the county promises that in case of future problems, it will notify the state immediately.
As for the state, it promises to keep a close eye on the Brightwater construction site.