EPA v. ELECTRON HYDRO LLC

Case summary

On July 11, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington entered the Consent Decree to resolve Electron Hydro LLC's and Chief Operating Officer Thom A Fischer's Clean Water Act violations near Orting, WA. The Consent Decree resolves Defendants' alleged violations of Section 301 of the Clean Water Act ( CWA ), 33 U.S.C. 1311(a), related to Defendants (1) placement of used, artificial field turf into a bypass channel Defendants created in the Puyallup River; (2) subsequent discharge of the used, artificial field turf from the bypass channel into the downstream portions of the Puyallup River, which is home to several species of Endangered Species Act-listed salmon; (3) discharge of rock and other fill material into the Puyallup River to construct a temporary rock spillway; and (4) violations of their Washington State-issued Construction Stormwater General Permit (CSWGP), including failure to update their Notice of Intent to reflect the true size of the construction area; failure to provide secondary containment for equipment containing fuel; failure to implement and/or maintain required best management practices (BMPs); failure to adequately conduct and/or document inspections and maintain records on-site; and failure to timely submit discharge monitoring reports. Under the terms of the Consent Decree, Defendants agree to (1) survey for, remove, and properly dispose of artificial turf found in and near Puyallup River downstream of the discharge site; (2) hire an independent third party contractor to evaluate their site for CSWGP compliance and implement all recommended BMPs; (3) place a restrictive deed on an approximately 70-acre parcel of land to preserve the parcel in its natural condition in perpetuity; (4) hire an independent third party firm to review their project plans in consideration of certain environmental criteria and submit the contractor?s evaluation to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of their CWA Section 404 permit application to complete their project; and (5) forgo operating their hydroelectric operation until they have removed the temporary rock spillway and comply with other provisions related to removal of temporary rock fill from the Puyallup River, including providing financial assurance in the form of a $1M performance bond. Defendants also agree pay a civil penalty of $1,025,000, which reflects the seriousness of their violations.

Defendants (2)

• ELECTRON HYDRONamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• THOM A. FISCHERNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• ELECTRON HYDRO

  PUYALLUP RIVER, PUYALLUP, WA, 98372

  Registry ID: 110070875272

Statutes cited

• CWA 301 — NPDES Discharge without a Permit
• CWA 404 — Permits for Dredge and Fill Material

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• ELECTRON HYDRO LLCentered 2024-07-11

  Primary law: CWA

  Federal penalty: $1,025,000

Timeline (5 milestones)

• 2020-11-15Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2020-11-18Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2020-11-25Complaint Filed With Court
• 2024-07-11Final Order Entered
• 2024-07-11Final Order Lodged