The Morton Wastewater Treatment Plant, seen in this 2012 file photo, has been negatively affected on several occasions by wastewater from Stericycle, according to the state Department of Ecology.
Stericycle Inc. has been fined $72,000 by the Washington Department of Ecology due to a series of improper releases of polluted wastewater from their medical waste processing plant in Morton.
The violations were found to occur over a 10-month period in 2017, with the final citation noted in December. According to Dave Bennett, a representative of the Department of Ecology, those wastewater dumps by Stericycle overwhelmed the municipal wastewater plant, which is connected to the Tilton River.
“The discharges from Stericycle go to Morton's wastewater treatment plant. What had happened in this particular instance is that the discharge caused the treatment plant to violate its own permit of total suspended solids,” explained Bennett.
The fine was levied on Stericycle for failure to notify the city or the Department of Ecology within 24 hours of the violations. Bennett noted that the Department of Ecology was alerted to the issue by workers at the Morton wastewater plant.
“When this happens it does cause the treatment plant to react, which can be costly,” explained Bennett. “When Stericycle doesn’t notify them it makes it that much more difficult to handle.”
The Stericycle plant in Morton takes in contaminated medical waste from around Washington, Oregon and Idaho for cleaning and sorting. The company is required by their Department of Ecology issued permit to limit pollutants like pH, oil and grease, and solids.
According to a press release from the Department of Ecology, “The wastewater disrupted the city’s treatment plant and threatened aquatic life in the Tilton River.”
One documented wastewater violation by Stericycle caused the Morton wastewater plant to violate its own water quality permit, while another discharge was found to be excessive in mercury, which is known to cause death and disease in living organisms. In nine cases Stericycle’s wastewater pollutants were found to exceed the limits set to protect oxygen levels in water, which is essential to the survival of fish and other aquatic species.
“All companies are expected to carefully manage their facilities so discharges do not cause harmful pollution. When Stericycle sent polluted wastewater to Morton’s treatment plant, it disrupted city operations,” said Heather Bartlett, manager of the Department of Ecology water quality program, in a press release. “We expect Stericycle to promptly make the necessary changes to its treatment system to protect their workers, Morton’s facility, and waters downstream.”
In addition to the monetary penalty, Stericycle has been ordered by the Department of Ecology to hire outside experts to assess the company’s treatment system within 30 days. Stericycle will also be required to deliver a corrective action within 60 days, and corrective action must be completed within 90 days.
Stericycle also has 30 days to appeal the penalty to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board. The company could not be reached for comment on this story.
A Department of Ecology press release noted that water pollution fines are placed in the Coastal Protection Fund in order to provide grants to local and tribal governments for water improvement projects.
Stericycle has previously been the source of contaminants found in the Morton treatment plant. In 2012, water at the plant turned green. It was determined to be caused by a compound called sodium fluorescein, also known as uranine dye, which is used in eye examinations, that came from Stericycle, according to past Chronicle reporting.
Stericycle was fined $72,000 by Ecology in 2015 after inspectors found spills of liquid waste and hazardous pharmaceutical waste mixed with non-hazardous biomedical waste at the company’s Morton facility, the Chronicle reported.
