LONGVIEW — State officials have fined the City of Woodland $98,400 for workplace health and safety violations at its water and sewage systems.
At least five Department of Labor & Industries inspections revealed numerous serious violations, such as: insufficient or a lack of safety procedures for employees entering confined spaces or working over areas with a high fall risk; poor hygiene and contamination at the wastewater treatment plant laboratory; and inadequate lock-out procedures, among other problems.
The city has until Dec. 21 to appeal citations, issued for 21 “serious” violations and five “general” violations. The investigation included the City of Woodland’s wastewater treatment plant, its water treatment plant and 14 pump stations.
“We feel that they were overly punitive, so we are working through our city attorney to file an appeal,” Woodland Mayor Grover Laseke said Thursday.
He added that the city already has corrected some of the problems or is in the process of doing so.
L&I has not documented any worker injuries relating to the violations. Tim Church, L&I public affairs manager, said the fines were “fairly high” compared with the average level of fines the agency deals with among business and government agencies. Although Church said he couldn’t speculate on this specific case, he said “the great majority” of citations are upheld during the appeal process.
The wastewater treatment plant’s lab suffered from poor hygiene: testing containers were contaminated; dog hair was found on sampling and testing equipment; food and meat were stored in the lab’s refrigerator; chewing tobacco was noted on walls and lab benches. Employees also weren’t properly disposing of biohazards, and they didn’t always wear personal protective equipment while being exposed to microorganisms, bleach, methanol and corrosives.
The city also failed to ensure that employees followed proper safety procedures for entering confined spaces such as vaults, digesters, manholes and water storage tanks, according to the inspection. Confined spaces are regulated because they can expose employees to moving parts, electric shock, falls, engulfment, getting trapped, air contaminants or oxygen deficiency. However, employees weren’t properly trained on how to enter and maneuver these spaces, the inspection found.
Employees also failed to wear proper eye protection when pouring a corrosive powder into a tank, exposing them to potential “burns and irreversible damage to the eyes.” An eyewash station also was not accessible nearby.
The L&I investigation was instigated by wastewater treatment plant employee Derrek Amburgey. Last year, Amburgey alerted Mayor Laseke to toxic sludge being poured onto the ground behind the plant and about Superintendent Mark Morgan’s behavior.
Amburgey claimed that Morgan falsified lab records, contaminated the plant by grooming his dog and cutting raw meat there, and brought hard alcohol and a loaded firearm to work.
Later, Amburgey filed complaints with L&I about the potential unsafe practices. After he was demoted, Amburgey filed a claim against the city for $1 million, alleging he was retaliated against because of his whistle blowing. The two sides are trying to negotiate a settlement, Laseke said.
Separately, the state Department of Ecology ordered a third-party audit earlier this year after it found irregularities at the waste water treatment plant. Laseke said those problems have been corrected.
He said he eventually expects the L&I fines to be reduced to $15,000 or $20,000 after the appeal process is complete.
“What happens on many of these things, is that there is the big splash this the newspaper and six months later the thing is solved for $29.95,” he said. Ultimately, Woodland residents may have to cover the cost through increase water and sewage rates, he said.
“It’s not you’re punishing me in particular … you’re fining the city and you’re taking away money from the ratepayers,” he added.
Laseke is due to leave city hall at the end of the month; he did not file for re-election as mayor and lost his bid for a city council seat.
