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By The Chronicle staff
The Washington state Department of Ecology will fine a farm and business with a Chehalis address nearly $1 million for alleged illegal dumping near the Chehalis River.
Ecology announced Thursday morning that it had fined County L Farms, LLC, $876,000 for violating the state's Water Pollution Control Act by illegally dumping slaughterhouse wastewater near the Chehalis River over a span of three years.
According to a news release from the department, company owners Jerry and Nicole Foster were paid $1.3 million to “properly dispose of millions of gallons of wastewater.”
Ecology would not provide an exact location of the contamination but said that it occurred “on land in Lewis County adjacent to the Chehalis River” and that it may have also impacted nearby groundwater and surface water.
The department is unsure exactly how the dumping might have impacted the Chehalis River, but stressed that it believes the dumping occurred year round and in rainy weather, which could have worsened the impact of the pollution.
Ecology further stated that the company halted the illegal dumping in 2025 during its investigation.
It expects the materials that were discarded included animal blood and body parts, cleaning products and rinse water.
The department regulates the disposal of wastewater, which can contain harmful materials or contribute to ongoing challenges like low oxygen levels in the river.
Wastewater from slaughterhouses, according to the department, can contain high levels of nitrates like those that have contaminated wells in the Fords Prairie Neighborhood near Centralia.
In a news release from Ecology, Water Program Manager Jon Kenning referred to the illegal dumping as “egregious.”
“What the Fosters did was absolutely illegal,” Kenning said in the release. “This business shortcut is inexcusable. There is a right way to dispose of this type of waste, yet the company chose differently.”
County L Farms, LLC, is registered to a residential property in the Adna area that is owned by other individuals and shows no signs of industrial slaughterhouse operations. The Chronicle was unable to contact the owners of the fined business for comment.
The business appears in a list of Chehalis businesses from the city’s website and is identified as a “Chehalis General Business — Non-Resident.”
