Washington AG Files Dozens of Charges Against Pierce County Dam Operator

(Olympia, WA) -- Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has filed 36 charges against Electron Hydro and its Chief Operating Officer, Thom Fischer, over a 2020 project at the Electron dam on the Puyallup River. The charges include violations of the state’s Water Pollution Control Act, Shoreline Management Act, and Pierce County Code.

The company is accused of using artificial field turf on the base of a temporary bypass channel. It contained crumb rubber that flowed into the river when a protective plastic liner broke. Pieces of the sports turf were found several miles downstream, and a chemical in the rubber is extremely toxic to coho salmon.

The Washington Department of Ecology previously fined Electron Hydro $500,000 following a suit from the Puyallup Tribe, but if found guilty of these new charges, the company could face a $250,000 fine per instance; Fischer could face time in jail.

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Click here to view the full release from the Office of the Attorney General.

Photo Remarks: Electron Dam, prior to the commencement of construction in the summer of 2020. Electron submitted this photograph to Pierce County as Part of their Phase I Engineering Design Report, dated February 2017.