Activists sue Port of Olympia under Clean Water Act, say stormwater pollutes Budd Inlet

Port of Olympia sued over Budd Inlet pollution

SEATTLE — An activist group is suing the Port of Olympia, claiming that discharges of stormwater from its terminal are polluting south Puget Sound.

The nonprofit group Olympians for Public Accountability filed the Clean Water Act lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Monday. It says that despite previous promises, the port has failed to monitor and clean up its discharges into Budd Inlet, especially from Weyerhaueser Corp.’s log export facility. The lawsuit says the stormwater is depleted of oxygen and includes unacceptable levels of zinc, copper and other pollutants.

The port’s executive director, Ed B. Galligan, issued a statement saying the port has been working with the group for some time and he’s “quite surprised” it filed the lawsuit.