Terminal operator at Tacoma port is polluting Puget Sound, nonprofit alleges in lawsuit

TACOMA – Nonprofit Communities for a Healthy Bay has sued Husky Terminal and Stevedoring, LLC, one of the largest terminals in the Port of Tacoma, for allegedly polluting Puget Sound at levels that exceed requirements of its general permits.

Communities for a Healthy Bay conducts regular patrols of the South Sound to monitor pollution. Members also conduct environmental research and advocate for environmental stewardship and clean water. Husky Terminal and Stevedoring, LLC moves thousands of shipping containers by sea, rail and road through Tacoma every day, according to its website.

The nonprofit alleges in a lawsuit filed last month that Husky Terminal and Stevedoring, LLC repeatedly violated the terms and conditions of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits (NPDES), which limit the discharge of pollutants from its facility into Commencement Bay, Blair Waterway and Sitcum Waterway, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for Western Washington.

Communities for a Healthy Bay also alleges Husky Terminal and Stevedoring, LLC “has failed to fulfill its monitoring, recordkeeping, reporting, public disclosure and planning requirements, among others, necessary for compliance with its NPDES permits,” making it more difficult for organizations to hold the terminal operator accountable. The organization alleges Husky Terminal and Stevedoring, LLC also failed to take corrective actions and benefited economically from violations that are “reasonably likely to recur.”

Husky Terminal and Stevedoring, LLC self-reported stormwater discharges containing excessive levels of turbidity, zinc and copper from 2018 through the second quarter of 2024, most often in 2018, according to the complaint. The company did not report data for the third quarter of 2022.

In response to questions from the News Tribune, Husky Terminals said in an email the company was aware of the complaint and believed “the lawsuit is based on a misunderstanding of our efforts and the steps taken regarding stormwater management.”

“The facility has been, and is in compliance with our Industrial Stormwater General Permit. Our commitment to environmental responsibility remains unwavering and we will continue to work with regulatory agencies and stakeholders to uphold the highest standards of environmental stewardship,” the statement said.

A representative with the Northwest Seaport Alliance said in an email the NWSA can’t comment on ongoing litigation. Although seaport alliance staff is a resource to tenants implementing stormwater management practices, “it remains the tenant’s responsibility to maintain permit compliance.”

“Additionally, all NWSA leases require our tenants to hold and strictly adhere to stormwater permits and comply with all applicable environmental laws,” said director of communications Melanie Stambaugh Babst.

In terms of relief, Communities for a Healthy Bay requested a declaration that Husky Terminal and Stevedoring, LLC violated and continue to violate the Clean Water Act and its general permits. They also requested the court to prevent the business from operating its facility in a manner that results in further violations, develop a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, provide environmental records, remediate environmental harm, pay civil penalties and award Communities for a Healthy Bay litigation expenses.

Harm to wildlife, public life

In a meeting with The News Tribune last week in Communities for a Healthy Bay’s Tacoma office, executive director Melissa Malott said the nonprofit has analyzed all the port’s pollution discharge permits for the pollutants that put salmon most at risk.

“There’s quite a few benchmark exceedances when you look at the totality of it across the Tideflats. But this was one [case] that really stood out to us as really going above and beyond,” Malott said. “[Husky Terminal and Stevedoring, LLC has] been exceeding the benchmarks for years, and we don’t think that’s OK.”

Poor water quality caused by pollutants could lead to reduced visibility for fish, low-oxygen dead zones, clogged gills and increased water temperature. The area near the port is also used by people for fishing, boating, swimming, biking and nature watching, according to the complaint.

“The cleaner our water is, the more incentives people have to recreate on it, the cleaner their seafood is going to be,” said Stefanie Stockwell, the nonprofit’s clean water advocate.

This case is the third Communities for a Healthy Bay has brought to court in two decades, and Malott said litigation is a “really important tool for advocacy.”

“When you think about the ways people can make change, there’s education, there’s changing the law, making new policies and then there’s upholding the law,” she said. “We want to do this more. There’s problems in Commencement Bay with stormwater violations, and so we’re kind of looking at who are the top tier polluters, talking about a dirty dozen list, and publishing that and just finding out where the biggest priorities are for change.”