LYNNWOOD — The Environmental Protection Agency fined the city of Lynnwood $550,000 due to “multiple instances of noncompliance” at the city’s wastewater treatment center.
The center’s sewage sludge incinerator exceeded EPA air quality emission limits and failed to comply with operating limits and pollution testing requirements, according to a statement the city published Tuesday.
At a meeting Monday, the City Council authorized Mayor Christine Frizzell to enter into an agreement with the federal agency for the city to pay the penalty and shut down the sewage incinerator before the end of May 2024.
“While we respect the EPA’s obligations to enforce the standards, we are disappointed that the law requires such a substantial penalty with ratepayer funds going to the U.S. Treasury instead of being invested back into our community,” Frizzell said.
The violations weren’t a result of operator error, the statement said, but due to the incinerator’s inability to “perform as expected.” Lynnwood’s sewage incinerator was up to date and received “excellence awards” when it was installed in 1993, but encountered issues once the EPA upped air quality statements in 2016, said Bill Franz, Lynnwood’s public works director.
“This has been a frustrating experience for our dedicated staff, who pride themselves on assuring compliance with the many standards that apply to the Treatment Plant and that we know our community expects,” Franz said.
The penalty comes amid a “decade-long” effort to update the city’s wastewater plant to new standards to protect Puget Sound. Part of the plan is to ensure the center “does not incinerate sludge, eliminating any future potential of exceeding air quality standards,” according to the statement.
Ashley Nash: 425-339-3037; ashley.nash@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @ash_nash00.
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