HomeMy WebLinkAbout100526 email - Petition Delivery_ A Call for Clean Water_ Air_ Safety and TransparencyALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Citizens for Safe Water and Air - Port Townsend
cswapt.com <https://www.google.com/url?q=http://cswapt.com&source=gmail&ust=1791312525502000&sa=E> | safewaterandair@gmail.com <mailto:safewaterandair@gmail.com>
V_1.6
October 3, 2026
Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners
Jefferson County, Washington
Attention: Commissioner Heather Dudley-Nollette
1820 Jefferson Street
PO Box 1220
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Dear Commissioners:
We write on behalf of Citizens for Safe Water and Air - Port Townsend, a group of residents and families in Port Townsend and Jefferson County, Washington. We are formally submitting
the enclosed community petition, titled A Call for Clean Water, Air, Safety and Transparency, regarding Port Townsend Paper Corporation. As of October 3, 2026, the petition has been
signed by 1,323 people: 341 through Action Network and 982 through Change.org, after removing every signer who appears on both platforms so that no one is counted twice. This number
is growing, so we will send you an update when we reach our next goal of 2,000 signatures. The complete, deduplicated list of names is enclosed as a separate document.
As the elected body responsible for Jefferson County's emergency planning, public health, and land use authority, you are positioned to convene the Community Advisory Panel this petition
proposes and to ensure county emergency plans reflect the facility's actual chemical inventory.
What Has Happened Since This Petition Was Launched
Since this petition was first launched, we have formally established Citizens for Safe Water and Air - Port Townsend, and built a public website at cswapt.com <https://www.google.com/url?q=http://csw
apt.com&source=gmail&ust=1791312525502000&sa=E> hosting our research and correspondence archive for anyone to review.
That website, together with the independent site ptodor.org <https://www.google.com/url?q=http://ptodor.org&source=gmail&ust=1791312525502000&sa=E> , has also set up a joint odor reporting
system so neighbors can log what they smell and when it happened. Since August 20, 2026, neighbors have filed more than 320 reports through the two sites combined, which were instantaneously
forwarded to the Washington State Department of Ecology.
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries opened a safety inspection of Port Townsend Paper Corporation in early July 2026, following the fatal tank implosion at a sister
kraft mill in Longview, Washington, covering tank maintenance, inspection and repair records, past spill records, and safety procedures.
That Longview disaster is still under investigation. On May 26, 2026, a white liquor storage tank collapsed at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging mill, killing eleven workers and injuring
at least eight more. Public records show warning signs were already present beforehand: the facility had been cited for air quality violations two months earlier, safety complaints
had been filed within the prior month, and two separate state safety inspections were already open when the tank failed. The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries has
said its findings may not be made public until late November 2026.
Separately, the Washington State Department of Ecology found that the facility's wastewater treatment system had gone improperly operated and maintained for at least 170 days, resulting
in a $734,000 penalty issued September 14, 2026, the largest enforcement action against this facility in our records. A fuller violations record Ecology provided the campaign the same
month documents a longer pattern, including a separate, earlier citation for the same treatment pond failure, construction of new wastewater equipment without Ecology's required engineering
review, and confirmed discharges of two cancer causing chemicals above their permitted limits in February 2026. We have since given Ecology additional evidence of a near overflow at
the treatment pond on August 5, 2026, which Ecology's own inspector confirmed in writing she had not previously known about and is now investigating.
The full petition and the complete signer list are enclosed as separate documents. The petition sets out eleven findings, each drawn from a government document, a state permit, a Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife study, a federal health consultation, or a federal Clean Air Act enforcement record, and eight specific requests.
None of the eight requests asks for Port Townsend Paper Corporation to close. They ask for independent inspection of chemical storage tanks, real time public monitoring of air and water
quality, completion of already identified missing health studies, plain language public disclosure of on site chemicals, an earthquake risk assessment with a public emergency plan,
an accelerated timeline for limiting cancer causing chemicals already confirmed in the company's wastewater, a Community Advisory Panel with real authority, and an annual plain language
safety and environmental report.
We ask that you read the enclosed petition in full and respond to the requests that fall within your authority. We welcome dialogue and are glad to meet, correspond, or provide supporting
documentation. Please direct any response to safewaterandair@gmail.com <mailto:safewaterandair@gmail.com> . We will continue collecting signatures as this campaign continues and plan
to share updated counts with you periodically.
Respectfully,
David Ginsberg
415-342-7445 <tel:(415)%20342-7445>
Citizens for Safe Water and Air - Port Townsend
cswapt.com <https://www.google.com/url?q=http://cswapt.com&source=gmail&ust=1791312525502000&sa=E>
R-1614565-10-13,P-R-2060608-6-6,P-R-2060607-6-6,P-R-2060601-6-6,P-R-2060341-6-3,P-R-2057336-6-5,P-R-2055024-6-6,P-R-1974107-6-5,P-R-1963206-6-7,P-R-1936488-6-8,P-R-1929147-18-10,P-R-1927338-C17-11,P-
R-1923932-C17-11,P-R-1923889-18-11,P-R-1920689-6-8,P-R-1916856-C17-10,P-R-1902050-C17-18,P-R-1907598-C17-14,P-R-1904235-18-7,P-R-1903600-18-11,P-R-1885802-18-16,P-R-1879730-18-16,P-R-1874958-18-10,P-
R-1874823-18-10,P-R-1872725-18-11,P-R-1870026-18-11,P-R-1851073-18-11,P-R-1848112-18-14,P-R-1846476-6-4,P-R-1838637-18-16,P-R-1833838-18-12,P-R-1832830-C17-10,P-R-1816292-18-15,P-R-1827344-6-7,P-R-18
27290-18-15,P-R-1826801-18-6,P-R-1814578-18-10,P-R-1804288-18-12,P-R-1780058-22-21,P-R-1769713-18-15,P-R-1771070-18-11,P-R-1764443-18-11,P-R-1764446-18-9,P-R-1763662-18-24,P-R-1763648-18-6,P-R-176237
5-14-4,P-R-1757972-18-7,P-R-1755503-18-17,P-R-1755632-18-15,P-R-1755636-18-28,P-R-1756440-18-12,P-R-1752850-18-7,P-R-1752853-18-20,P-R-1752181-18-6,P-R-1751005-18-8,P-R-1740209-18-15,P-R-1736198-18-1
5,P-R-1736186-18-10,P-R-1692704-12-13,P-R-1598847-12-15,P-R-1595964-7-8,P-R-1595963-7-4,P-R-1586822-20-9,pr192914718:1443642,pr1927338c17:1443645,pr1923932c17:1443639,pr192388918:1443580,pr1916856c17
:1431112,pr1902050c17:1443271,pr1907598c17:1432614,pr190423518:1420449,pr184811218:1437707,pr1832830c17:1436672,pr173619818:1432611,P-E-1734337-2-3,P-R-1853507-16-15,P-R-1558610-14-15,P-R-1016539-8-5
,P-R-82473-1-4,P-R-56618-1-3,pe17343372:1068526,P-R-1859828-9-2,P-R-33696-1-5,P-R-1837771-10-5,P-R-1816257-8-6,P-R-1807283-1-3,P-R-1788029-14-23,P-R-1787400-8-8,P-R-1784611-14-17,P-R-1770296-13-15,P-
R-1768947-12-13,P-R-1762471-13-15,P-R-1759466-13-18,P-R-1746165-13-18,P-R-1736354-8-4,P-R-1697143-8-4,P-R-1628558-13-9,P-R-1623084-34-33,P-R-1608729-14-14,P-R-1595453-13-20,P-R-1594709-11-9,P-R-15915
27-13-14,P-R-1585604-14-20,P-R-1571269-1-2,P-R-1566050-17-22,P-R-1563786-13-20,P-R-1563429-17-27,P-R-1547804-13-16,P-R-1547474-13-14,P-R-1547323-14-17,P-R-1546619-14-15,P-R-1535503-14-16,P-R-1534940-
14-17,P-R-1526113-9-8,P-R-1470030-14-20,P-R-1468186-13-18,P-R-1454822-13-23,P-R-1431076-13-17,P-R-1413748-4-6,P-R-1356627-14-14,P-R-1263006-12-11,P-R-1256496-14-17,P-R-1152783-13-15,P-R-39912-1-2,P-R
-1463515-14-16,P-R-50380-18-18,P-R-1851133-16-12,P-R-1842366-8-9,P-R-1828620-16-16,P-R-1805832-16-6,P-R-1804385-8-4,P-R-1790483-8-7,P-R-1788359-16-17,P-R-1782040-18-18,P-R-1773162-8-5,P-R-1761865-18-
13,P-R-1724690-2-3,P-R-1712571-13-16,P-R-1701617-14-18,P-R-1691621-14-13,P-R-1620975-13-15,P-R-1604240-18-26,P-R-1597393-8-4,P-R-1587298-8-6,P-R-1585341-13-17,P-R-1553975-14-17,P-R-1457105-4-4,P-R-14
47211-4-4,P-R-1442588-8-7,P-R-1264759-4-6,P-R-1225218-4-5,P-R-1178370-13-18,P-R-63338-18-11,P-R-58251-18-12,P-R-33737-1-4,P-E-29662-2-3,P-R-1851025-11-11,P-R-1817519-16-16,P-R-1746541-14-21,P-R-16500
85-4-4,P-R-1232796-4-4,P-R-1226757-4-6,P-R-1152777-14-15,P-R-61358-18-22,P-R-63947-18-2,P-R-61361-18-26,P-R-61360-18-21,P-R-47242-18-11,P-R-45550-18-46,P-R-42512-1-3,P-R-35407-4-3,P-R-28644-1-4,P-R-1
8513-1-30,P-R-1856616-16-10,P-R-1851788-9-5,P-R-1811556-16-21,P-R-1653256-8-6,P-R-1617889-13-16,P-R-1437162-8-4,P-R-1268752-13-2,P-R-1220844-8-4,P-R-65011-1-3,P-R-50541-2-7,P-R-69232-38-12,P-R-23681-
2-7,P-D-32502-2-3,P-D-32501-2-3,P-D-32415-2-3,P-R-1920062-16-8,P-R-1866518-8-2,P-R-1859976-13-2,P-R-1859966-29-2,P-R-1635101-14-14,P-R-1450511-14-19,P-R-1278627-14-16,P-R-1235942-14-16,P-R-64513-18-1
1,P-R-51916-84-31,P-D-1160141-1-4,,P-R-1854879-9-2,P-R-1462420-4-4,P-R-1075199-6-4,P-R-1013930-4-5,P-R-47601-18-13,P-R-33916-1-5,P-R-33580-8-9,P-R-1894414-16-8,P-R-1827533-15-11,P-R-1827530-14-10,P-R
-1827520-6-6,P-R-1827497-9-3,P-R-1804941-8-3,P-R-1790557-16-4,P-R-1752365-14-15,P-R-1644428-2-9,P-R-1658015-14-19,P-R-1596027-6-5,P-R-1477961-6-4,P-R-1419766-4-5,P-R-1288838-14-15,P-R-1288735-14-16,P
-R-1281568-2-3,P-R-1219506-4-4,P-R-1173809-4-5,P-R-1157451-4-4,P-R-1115965-4-4,P-R-1035921-4-4,P-R-59820-18-105,P-R-59426-1-3,P-R-46913-18-8,P-R-1590852-4-5,P-R-1801693-16-3,P-R-1794914-16-4,P-R-1790
911-12-2,P-R-1261613-14-16,P-R-19262-1-12,P-R-1821979-8-2,P-R-1798096-12-14,P-R-1740530-1-3,P-R-1644088-8-6,P-R-1641840-13-17,P-R-1622421-11-11,P-R-1607662-14-15,P-R-1581108-14-16,P-R-1574269-10-10,P
-R-1547687-10-13,P-R-1538609-13-18,P-R-1474733-14-23,P-R-1430527-14-16,P-R-1291482-8-12,P-R-1254109-13-14,P-R-2052417-1-8,P-R-1712777-10-11,P-R-1649873-3-11,P-R-1641587-1-6,P-R-1583865-1-6,P-R-156394
5-1-8,P-R-1128630-1-7,P-R-1098412-1-5,P-R-1091267-1-59,P-R-81720-1-2,P-R-58406-1-5,P-D-50697-2-4,P-D-29719-1-1,P-D-29718-1-1,P-D-29593-7-6