Whatcom farmer agrees to fine for manure spill into creek that killed hundreds of fish
A Whatcom County farmer has been fined for spilling manure into Anderson Creek for at least 12 hours and killing hundreds of fish, including threatened Puget Sound steelhead.
Harold Carbee was originally fined $7,500 in civil penalties, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries division announced on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
However, Carbee and NOAA settled the case for $6,750, according to a NOAA release.
NOAA’s Office of General Counsel fined Carbee in November for spilling manure into Anderson Creek, between Kelly and East Smith roads, in May 2018.
Steelhead and salmon are found in the creek, which flows into the Nooksack River.
Officials launched an investigation after a local citizen reported seeing liquid manure in the creek, according to the release.
Investigators said they found more than 300 dead fish, according to the release. Those included 89 steelhead smolts, coho salmon and other species.
NOAA Fisheries said nine steelhead nests, or redds, also were affected.
About $9 million in restoration funding has been spent on Anderson Creek to replace culverts that impeded salmon and steelhead migration.
“We owe it to everyone who works on salmon and steelhead recovery to make sure their hard work does not go to waste,” said Greg Busch, assistant director for the West Coast Division of NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement.
“Restored habitat such as Anderson Creek is the key to the recovery of these fish, and we need to protect it,” Busch said in a statement.
NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement, Ferndale Police Department, Nooksack Indian Tribe, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Washington Department of Ecology all were part of the investigation.
This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 4:45 PM.
