A citizen Clean Water Act lawsuit was filed against Kiewit Corp. by the environmental group Waste Action Project, accusing the construction company of violating its environmental permits. The lawsuit, filed in Washington federal court on Thursday, claims Kiewit failed to prevent polluted stormwater from its Seattle marine yard from flowing into the Duwamish River and Elliott Bay.
According to the complaint, Kiewit exceeded the pollutant levels permitted under its stormwater runoff permits at the company’s four-acre facility next to the river. The environmental group also accuses Kiewit of neglecting mandated monitoring and reporting duties.
The lawsuit states that these alleged violations have hindered efforts to clean up the Duwamish River, which has been contaminated by decades of industrial pollution and runoff. The group claims that Kiewit’s discharges contribute to the polluted conditions of the West Waterway of the Duwamish, an area listed on the state’s impaired water bodies list.
