Washington

The Washington Department of Ecology has fined an inactive gravel pit operating as Skagit Hill Recycling, Inc. $46,000 for water quality permit violations. A second order directs the facility to immediately remove a 70-foot pile of boiler waste and other improperly stored materials. The piles, which can leach toxic pollutants during rainfalls, sit on porous sand and gravel. The department also cited the company for failing to have and implement a water quality monitoring plan, a stormwater pollution prevention plan, an erosion and sediment control plan, and a spill control plan. All four are needed to meet sand and gravel water quality permit requirements.