The Suquamish Tribe is calling for action after a sewage spill at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard over the weekend dumped 4,000 gallons of waste into Sinclair Inlet.
https://q13fox.com/2019/03/05/thousands-of-gallons-of-sewage-dumped-into-sinclair-inlet-again/
The tribe says that over the past three years, the Navy has repeatedly released tens of thousands of gallons of sewage into the Puget Sound, contaminating tribal fishery resources.
Suquamish Chairman Leonard Forsman said Thursday, [March 7, 2019], he wants the Navy to put proper measures in place to prevent this from happening again.
“I understand the Navy has been trying to manage these,” he said. “But it seems to be a recurring issue.”
A full statement from the Navy said, “Less than 4,000 gallons of domestic wastewater spilled into Sinclair Inlet between 1:30 p.m. Saturday [March 2]] and 3 p.m. Sunday [March 3] when a pressure sensor broke off a water line at Dry Dock 6 in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Washington. The spill lasted for slightly more than 24 hours because the mechanic who initially responded to the broken pressure sensor on Saturday believed the leak was from a normal saltwater line and diverted the spill into a dry dock service galley which pumped into Sinclair Inlet.
“On Sunday, shipyard personnel discovered that the leak did not originate from a saltwater line and could contain wastewater. Out of an abundance of caution, they shut down the pump to contain the spill. The following morning (Monday), shipyard personnel confirmed that the spill had contained wastewater that back-flowed into the line due to a loss of pressure.
“PSNS & IMF takes its responsibility to protect the environment very seriously and will conduct a full investigation into the cause of the spill and the steps taken once it was discovered. In addition, the shipyard has notified state and local officials of the spill and will continue to provide them with information as needed.”
Earlier in February, QFox 13 News reported that:
“…about 19,400 of gallons of wastewater spilled into Puget Sound after the Richmond Beach Pump Station in Shoreline lost power.
“King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks says a winter storm-related power outage Monday morning [Feb. 4, 2019] at the pump station led to wastewater flowing into Puget Sound for about 20 minutes.
“A King County wastewater operator was able to reset pump operations.
“Officials say [on Feb. 5, 2019] the overflow was reported to health and regulatory agencies.”
https://q13fox.com/2019/03/05/thousands-of-gallons-of-sewage-dumped-into-sinclair-inlet-again/
**If you are reading theOrcasonian for free, thank your fellow islanders. If you would like to support theOrcasonian CLICK HERE to set your modestly-priced, voluntary subscription. Otherwise, no worries; we’re happy to share with you.**
