Each was due for renewal by an extended deadline of May 8, 2000. Ecology's original deadline for renewal was February 1999. S.W. in Rochester. Without a current, valid permit, we don't have a handle on what the mining company is doing to protect water quality. The permits protect water quality by requiring owners to manage their site to minimize the risk of water pollution.
Permits require routine reporting of test results from waste-water samples.
In addition, waste and storm water can violate state water-quality standards for temperature, turbidity and pH, a measure of the water's acidity or alkalinity. Polluted ground water can seep into private wells that are used by many rural home owners. The owner has 15 days in which to ask Ecology to reduce the fine, and 30 days to appeal the order and penalty to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board.