Port Townsend Paper Mill Faces $734,000 Washington Pollution Penalty

Washington’s Department of Ecology has fined Port Townsend Paper Company $734,000 over alleged violations involving the treatment of industrial wastewater discharged into Puget Sound.

According to the department, an unannounced inspection in October 2025 found that the mill had been improperly treating its wastewater for at least five months. Officials said the facility was out of compliance for 170 days.

The violations included an accumulation of sludge and weeds in the mill’s 30-acre wastewater-aeration pond. The buildup reduced the pond’s capacity and its ability to treat wastewater before discharge into Port Townsend Bay, according to the Department of Ecology.

The state also said some wastewater-treatment equipment was disconnected or not operating properly. As a result, water with low levels of dissolved oxygen was discharged into the bay, which Ecology said could be harmful to marine life.

Port Townsend Paper Company declined an interview and said it would appeal the penalty. Brian Peterson, the company’s senior vice president of manufacturing, said in an email that the penalty was “grossly disproportionate to the facts” and mischaracterized the circumstances. He said public health and the environment were not at risk.

Ecology spokesperson Andrew Wineke said the department’s focus was protecting water quality.

The penalty has also drawn criticism from Port Townsend retiree David Ginsberg, who recently formed the grassroots group Citizens for Safe Water and Air-Port Townsend. Ginsberg called for penalties that increase when problems remain unresolved rather than being treated as a one-time cost.

The Port Townsend mill is one of three kraft paper mills in Washington currently under investigation for workplace safety concerns following a chemical spill at Nippon Dynawave’s Longview mill that killed 11 workers in May.