Seattle shipyard penalized $112,000 for water quality violations

The Washington Department of Ecology is issuing a $112,000 penalty to Northlake Shipyard in Seattle for failing to protect water quality, including polluting Lake Union and mishandling toxic chemicals.

Located on Lake Union near Gas Works Park, Northlake Shipyard is a shipyard offering both self-service and full-service facilities.

The department said the shipyard is responsible for ensuring that its tenants and users comply with the terms of its water quality permit, and that despite multiple offers of technical assistance and a legal order directing the facility to make specific corrections, the company was still failing to implement practices to protect the lake.

"Every waterfront business has the responsibility to protect Lake Union, which is a key resource for fish migration, recreation, commerce, and transportation," said Vince McGowan, Water Quality Program Manager for the department.

“Both the ship repair industry and clean water are vital to western Washington. Other shipyards and boatyards are successful at preventing pollution in their daily operations, and we are holding this business to the same standards.”

During a January 2023 site visit, inspectors documented numerous violations of the shipyard’s discharge permit. Violations included allowing polluted water to enter Lake Union, improper handling of solid waste, and failures to properly manage, store, and prepare for spills of petroleum and other toxic chemicals.

In August 2023, the department issued a legal order outlining the steps that Northlake Shipyard needed to take to comply with state and federal regulations.

In particular, the shipyard has failed to prove that they are pumping out their industrial wastewater tanks to prevent them from overflowing to Lake Union.

A follow-up site visit in April 2024 found violations were continuing. After the visit, Northlake Shipyard made some of the required improvements, however, it still had not fully met the conditions of its water quality permit and the August 2023 legal order, including ensuring wastewater and polluted stormwater are not discharging to Lake Union.