Port of Olympia, Ecology agree on plan to improve stormwater flowing into Budd Inlet
The Port of Olympia and state Department of Ecology have agreed on a plan to make changes to the port’s marine terminal stormwater treatment facility — a facility that first came online in December 2014 and that has had a checkered history.
Under the agreed order, which took effect July 30, the port must make changes to the stormwater treatment facility by July 1, 2020, in order to comply with an Ecology industrial stormwater permit.
“The Port of Olympia agrees to undertake all actions required of it by the terms and conditions of the agreed order and not to contest Ecology’s jurisdiction and authority to administer the order,” the order reads.
Budd Inlet is an oxygen-starved body of water, and if the marine terminal stormwater and the chemicals that are found in it are left untreated, they further reduce the oxygen, which makes it difficult for aquatic life to thrive, said Rich Doenges, southwest region director for Ecology.
To prevent that from happening, the port uses a chemical oxidation-based stormwater treatment system that re-introduces oxygen into the water before it’s released, but that system hasn’t always met benchmarks set for it under the stormwater permit.
In a news release, the port acknowledged those benchmarks weren’t met for three quarters in 2017. Later, the system met those benchmarks for the first two quarters of this year, but Doenges said Ecology wants to make sure it meets those benchmarks during a “full year of rain” on the marine terminal.
Implementing those changes likely will cost the port money, but port spokeswoman Jennie Foglia-Jones said they do not have a cost estimate yet.
“I appreciate Ecology’s cooperation in clarifying our mutual expectations and look forward to working together to achieve our shared goal of protecting the water quality of Budd Inlet,” port executive director Sam Gibboney said in a statement.
When it comes to administrative orders, the port and Ecology have some history.
A series of administrative orders between 2011 and 2014 led to the creation of the port’s $11.5 million stormwater treatment facility. It opened in December 2014; one month later it ran into problems.
On Jan. 28, a containment system for hydrogen peroxide failed, resulting in a 9,600-gallon spill of a 50-percent concentration of the chemical. That resulted in an emergency response to the marine terminal. Some in the area had to evacuate or shelter in place.
The 10,000-gallon tank contained 9,600-gallons at the time of the spill: 5,000 gallons flowed into a concrete containment area, while another 4,600 gallons overflowed the containment area into the “rest of the building, and to the outside soil, pavement and stormwater catch basins,” The Olympian reported in 2015.
The building that contains the tank also has floor drains that discharge into the sewer system that flows to the LOTT sewage treatment plant. Once the chemical entered the sewer system, it generated white vapor clouds that could be seen rising from manhole covers.
The treatment facility was repaired and fully operational again on Dec. 31, 2016, according to Ecology.
Later, the port received a $250,000 settlement from a company that designed the hydrogen peroxide system.
This story was originally published August 2, 2019 at 7:00 AM.
