The federal government this week announced it’ll fine a Glendive sand and gravel company thousands of dollars for releasing polluted stormwater into a nearby watershed and other violations.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will charge Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. $95,000 for noncompliance with the Clean Water Act, pollutant discharge, failure to take corrective action and failure to report, among other things.
Mike Boeglin is an EPA water program enforcement specialist and says the agency found evidence the facility had discharged polluted stormwater and concrete washout into the Upper Seven Mile Creek watershed.
He says those leaks would contain substances like petroleum and heavy metals and include high pH levels.
“Those pollutants interfere with aquatic life and the entire aquatic ecosystem. They rob dissolved oxygen and they prevent those organisms from being able to thrive and reproduce,” Boeglin said.
An EPA document shows that the Montana Department of Environmental Quality first informed Fisher Sand & Gravel it was in violation of the Montana Water Quality Act in 2014 and the EPA got involved in 2015 when the business failed to comply.
The business has locations in Billings and Livingston, as well as nationwide.
The public can submit comments on the settlement until June 13, after which it will be filed as an official penalty.
