A nonprofit environmentalist group based in Quilcene is suing a shellfish company that is the largest private employer in south county, over an alleged need to filter effluent.

The Olympic Forest Coalition (OFCO) on Jan. 28 filed a federal lawsuit against Coast Seafoods Company alleging water pollution in Quilcene Bay. Quilcene resident Connie Gallant is president of the OFCO board.

"All we're after is for them to put in a filtering system," she told the Leader Feb. 8. The legal move is not about trying to curtail or close the business operation, Gallant said.

"The primary goal of the lawsuit is to reduce water pollution in Quilcene Bay," according to an OFCO statement.

Coast Seafoods Company has operated in Quilcene since 1946 and currently employs 45 people. The company's website notes that, "at our Quilcene Hatchery, advanced technology, experienced technicians and a superb natural environment have combined to make it the world's largest shellfish hatchery capable of producing over 45 billion eyed oyster larvae (diploid and triploid) per year."

From Coast Seafoods' perspective, it appears the legal action is aimed at the regulatory control of the federal Environmental Protection Agency and its Clean Water Act process known as a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

Coast Seafoods is not required to have an NPDES permit, said Tony Dal Ponte, deputy general counsel for the company, because the operation is not large enough – by specific federal standards – to meet the permit threshold.

"Growing oysters requires pristine water which is why Coast Seafoods is a leader in environmental sustainability, and has been a vocal advocate for clean water all over Washington state," Dal Ponte told the Leader Feb. 9. "This lawsuit really takes issue with the state's regulatory framework. Coast Seafoods fully complies with all permitting requirements and we expect the suit will be promptly dismissed by the courts."

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma. Coast Seafoods has a time limit for a response, which Dal Ponte estimated would be in March. Coast Seafoods was made aware of this potential litigation last year.

Paul Kampmeier, an attorney with Kampmeier & Knutsen PLLC of Seattle, represents the Olympic Forest Coalition. Kampmeier told the Leader that his client believes the company's use of pipes, ditches and channels qualify as "point sources" of pollution that should trigger the Clean Water Act's requirement for an NPDES permit.

An Olympic Forest Coalition concern is that Coast Seafoods filters water being brought into the hatchery, but does not filter effluent sent back into Quilcene Bay.

"It's not about their business or trying to slow their business or stop their business," Kampmeier told the Leader Feb. 8. "What it has to do with, that facility appears to be discharging effluent and waste from the facility onto the beach there outside Quilcene and into the bay.

"My hope would be that Coast Seafoods will see that because they are using pipes and discharges that they need to have a [NPDES] permit and we find a way to work it out and resolve it before going through litigation," Kampmeier said.

The lawsuit (see a copy attached to this story on ptleader.com) indicates that Connie Gallant and her husband, JD Gallant, have been tracking this issue for a number of years, and have been in contact with Coast Seafoods about their concern. They are the two Olympic Forest Coalition members mentioned in the lawsuit as owning a sailboat moored at the Quilcene marina next to Coast Seafoods' hatchery. The legal paperwork includes water quality tests the couple apparently conducted in 2014 in the bay near the hatchery.

The suit alleges that "effluent from the facility contains pollutants, including but not limited to total suspended solids, nitrogen, phosphorous, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, Chlorophyll a, Phaeophytin a, heat, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and chlorine. These and the other materials in the facility’s effluent constitute chemical wastes, biological materials, heat, industrial waste, and other 'pollutants' as defined by the Clean Water Act."

It also notes that Coast Seafoods hired a consultant, Rensel Associates Aquatic Sciences, to assess the effluent discharged into Quilcene Bay, which led to a report in 2013. Attorney Kampmeier noted that the Rensel Report "documents point-source dischargers of pollutants" that include pipes, ditches and channels.

The plaintiff is asking the federal court to grant "injunctive relief" and require Coast Seafoods to comply with the Clean Water Act, and apply for an NPDES permit. It also asks for civil penalties as allowed, and award plaintiff its litigation expenses, including costs and reasonable attorneys' and expert witness' fees.

The Olympic Forest Coalition, launched in 1989, has in recent years been active on several measures, including the "Wild Olympics" campaign which has been supported by Congressman Derek Kilmer. Connie Gallant is president of the Olympic Forest Coalition board and is also chair of the Wild Olympics Campaign.

The coalition also has been vocal against U.S. Navy plans for electronic warfare training on the Olympic Peninsula, and other Navy projects and plans.

Coast Seafoods' website declares the company as being the largest single oyster producer in the world, owning and operating more than 14,000 state certified Pacific Coast Tidelands. The company has hatcheries in Quilcene and in Kona, Hawaii.