Feds: Seattle barrel company used hidden drain to pollute

https://news.yahoo.com/us-seattle-barrel-company-used-221020209.html

GENE JOHNSON
,Associated Press•December 18, 2019

A century-old Seattle barrel company has been indicted along with its third-generation owner in what prosecutors describe as a long-running pollution conspiracy.

The 36-count indictment made public Wednesday said Seattle Barrel and Cooperage used a hidden drain to pump caustic wastewater directly into the King County sewer system.

Seattle Barrel refurbishes used industrial and commercial barrels and drums. Part of that process involves washing the barrels in a corrosive solution.

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In a written statement provided by its attorney, Harold Malkin, Seattle Barrel blamed a former employee who was fired nine months ago. The company said it did not encourage or permit that worker's actions and that it will contest any criminal liability for them.

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The indictment names Seattle Barrel owner Louie Sanft, whose grandfather founded the company in 1916. It also names its plant manager, John Sanft, who is Louie Sanft's cousin. They are due to appear in court Jan. 9.

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Federal prosecutors said dumping caustic, high-pH solutions into the sewer system can corrode it and the treatment plant and that the waste can wind up in Puget Sound, home to protected salmon, orcas and other species.

Since at least 2009, the company's permit from King County has prohibited such discharges.

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That treatment system was not designed or used to handle waste from the 300-gallon (1,136-liter) tank where barrels are washed, however. The tank was supposed to be cleaned by evaporating the water from it, wiping out the remaining residue, sealing the residue in drums and then shipping it to another company for disposal.

Prosecutors said the company lied about doing that. Instead, the indictment said, Louie Sanft directed employees to pump the wastewater down an a hidden drain that led to the sewer.

An inspection in 2017 revealed irregularities in the company's handling of wastewater, and covert monitoring showed that the company continued to dump it down the sewer in 2018 and 2019, the indictment said. Meanwhile, Seattle Barrel filed reports with the county certifying that it had not dumped any wastewater.

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