OLYMPIA – The state Department of Ecology has reduced a $100,000 fine against Celebrity Cruise Lines issued last year by $30,000 after determining that three of the 10 discharges of untreated sewage by the cruise ship Mercury occurred in Canadian waters.
“The rest of the fine stands,” said Larry Altose, spokesman for the state Department of Ecology.
Celebrity Cruise Lines intends to pay the entire $70,000 fine and donate $30,000 to the state’s Coastal Protection Fund, the destination for water quality fines, Altose said.
Comment from the cruise line was unavailable on Tuesday.
The Coastal Protection Fund is used for projects such as last fall’s creosote removal project in several Puget Sound counties, including Clallam and Jefferson.
Celebrity Cruises Inc. challenged a $100,000 fine issued by Ecology for the release of more than half a million gallons of untreated wastewater by its cruise ship Mercury.
The 866-foot-long ship, built in 1997, is 105.6 feet wide and has a passenger capacity of 1,870.
The discharges occurred during nine days in September and October 2005 in the Strait of Juan de Fuca off Port Angeles and between Port Townsend and Protection Island.
The 542,332 gallons consisted mostly of untreated sink, shower and laundry water, with a small percentage of sewage treated with a Coast Guard-certified marine sanitation device.
