Puget Soundkeeper Alliance Sues Over Clean Water Act Violations
Puget Soundkeeper Alliance filed a complaint in the Western District of Washington against Pacific Pile & Marine LP (PPM) for alleged Clean Water Act violations for discharging pollutants from its facility into navigable waters in Seattle, Washington.
The lawsuit alleges that the discharge of pollution into waters near Seattle that came from PPMs storage and transloading facility, reported Law Street Media.
PPM’s facility is used for marine equipment and materials for construction activities. According to the complaint, PPM allegedly discharged pollutants into water in violation of the terms of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, also violating the Clean Water Act.
The complaint alleges that PPM discharged untreated storm water and pollutants into the Duwamish Waterway and then the Puget Sound. It also states that PPM also discharged storm water with pollutants at levels higher than the permitted benchmarks, reported Law Street Media.
The complaint adds that PPM did not comply with various requirements of its NPDES permit, such as: benchmark limitations, effluent limits, Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, illegal and unpermitted discharges and more.
PPM did not record and report information about its discharges, violations and pollution controls, reported the complaint.
Puget Soundkeeper Alliance wants PPM to take remediation actions and pay civil penalties for the violations. Puget Soundkeeper Alliance is represented by Smith & Lowney, PLLC.
Puget Soundkeeper Alliance stated that its members are “concerned about the effects of discharges of pollutants, including storm water from PPM’s facility, on water quality and aquatic species and wildlife,” as well as the effects on human health, reported Law Street Media.