Hood Canal property owners penalized $250,000 for illegal bulkhead replacement resulting in Chinook salmon deaths
SEATTLE (January 22, 2024) -- Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Joan Bayley, Philip Bayley, and Big D’s Beach Cabin LLC of Union, Washington have been ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington to pay a $250,000 penalty and provide $33,492 to the Hood Canal Coordinating Council as mitigation for illegal bulkhead replacement work that resulted in the death of Chinook salmon.
In August 2017, Mr. Bayley, Ms. Bayley, and Big D’s Beach Cabin LLC removed an old, sloped concrete bulkhead along the shoreline of the Hood Canal and replaced it with a new, vertical one. The project, which was performed without the required Clean Water Act permit, discharged dredged and fill material, such as dirt, spoil, rock, sand and concrete into the Hood Canal. In August 2020, Mr. Bayley directed contractors to build a stairway adjacent to the new bulkhead and fill the shoreline behind it, again discharging concrete and other fill material in Hood Canal.
The construction projects permanently and negatively changed the patterns of tidal water flow and circulation along the shoreline. These changes advance beach erosion and decrease the overall ecosystem functions of Hood Canal, particularly as a spawning habitat for several species of fish. Construction of the bulkhead also likely increased the pH of the water that came into contact with it, which can kill or injure fish. Mr. Bayley, Ms. Bayley, and Big D’s Beach Cabin LLC admitted to the death of endangered Chinook salmon during construction of the bulkhead.
“This final judgment by the U.S. District Court sends a strong and clear message that federal, state, and local permits and approvals are required prior to constructing along the shoreline of Hood Canal and Puget Sound which is important habitat for Chinook salmon and other fish and wildlife,” said Ed Kowalski, Director of the Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division in EPA’s Region 10 office in Seattle. “Compliance with the Clean Water Act also ensures no one gains an unfair financial advantage by violating the law.”
Construction projects within Puget Sound, such as concrete bulkheads, require additional agency and public review to ensure adequate protection and recovery of salmon species and their habitat listed under the Endangered Species Act.
In addition to the $250,000 penalty, Mr. Bayley, Ms. Bayley, and Big D’s Beach Cabin LLC will pay a $33,492.10 compensatory mitigation payment to the Hood Canal Coordinating Council, which includes Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason counties, and the Port Gamble S’Klallam and Skokomish Tribes. The Council will use the funds to create and protect aquatic resources throughout Hood Canal.
For more information, please view the Court Order.