Electron Hydro and its CEO last year agreed to pay more than a million dollars in fines for their illegal use of artificial turf on the Puyallup River four years ago. At the time, it was the largest fine and restitution paid for an environmental crime in Washington state legal history, according to the state Attorney General’s office.
The 2023 consent decree also included a guilty plea to a gross misdemeanor violation for operating an illegal hydraulic project in violation of the Clean Water Act.
But the story doesn’t end there. On Tuesday, the owners of Electron Hydro will be back in court – this time in a suit brought by the Puyallup Tribe under the Endangered Species Act.
The Puyallup Tribe says Electron’s dam structures continue to harm three species of endangered fish: Chinook salmon, steelhead and bull trout. They are asking the company to remove a temporary rock dam it built four years ago to protect its structures after it halted construction due to the Astroturf incident.
Lisa Anderson is the tribe’s environmental attorney. He said the rock dam causes fish to swim toward it and away from the fish ladder that leads to clean habitat.
“So the fish are now being attracted to an area they can’t get through,” Anderson said.
He said the tribe has seen a steady and significant decline in their fish returns.
“And in fact, last season, we had no steelhead documented above the dam. And that’s very unusual.”
In a statement to KNKX, the owners of Electron Hydro said they are following all requirements for the temporary spillway and have submitted a Habitat Conservation Plan under the Endangered Species Act to permanently remove the rock dam. They are still chasing the completion of the dam upgrades they started in 2020.
The tribe wants to shut down the entire project.
Oral arguments on the tribe’s motion for partial summary judgment will be heard before Judge John C. Coughenour in US District Court in Seattle, at 9 am Tuesday, February 6, 2024.
