Eastern WA nuclear plant fined for spilling gallons of oil into the Columbia River
Energy Northwest has been fined $4,000 after a spill of lubricating oil that polluted the Columbia River at its nuclear power plant north of Richland.
The oil spilled on June 13, 2023, and the Washington state Department of Ecology included fines issued in late 2024 in a quarterly report released May 1.
A seal within the Columbia Generating Station’s cooling system failed about 10:30 a.m. as routine maintenance was being done during the 2023 biennial refueling and maintenance outage.
It caused 282 gallons of lubricating oil from a turbine oil heat exchanger to discharge over three hours, according to the Department of Ecology. The oil had no radioactive contamination and the type of oil, Mobil DTE 732, is considered nonhazardous, said Energy Northwest.
Energy Northwest hired GrayMar Environmental, a licensed and Washington state-approved spill cleanup company. It recovered 137 gallons of oil within the system using absorbent materials.
However, because of the system’s design, 145 gallons that were unaccounted for are believed to have entered the Columbia River through the system’s water discharge pipe.
No oil sheen was seen on the river by the Department of Ecology or Energy Northwest, according to an Energy Northwest report to the Washington state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council.
Absorbent booms were placed in the Columbia River, it told the council.
Energy Northwest notified the Coast Guard, the Washington state Division of Emergency Management and the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council the day of the spill.
But the Department of Ecology was concerned not only that the river was polluted, but that Energy Northwest did not notify the Division of Emergency Management about the spill until eight hours after it started.
Both were cited as violations.
However, Energy Northwest said it made the notifications within the time frame of its National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit.
The Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council imposed no corrective action or penalties, saying the event was reported within the requirements of that permit and that the oil cleanup was completed.
In addition to the fine from the Department of Ecology, it also ordered Energy Northwest to reimburse its expenses of about $1,400 for a total payment to the of about $5,400.
This story was originally published May 2, 2025 at 12:01 PM.