The Washington State Department of Ecology announced that it is fining a Cosmopolis pulp mill owner a total of $2.3 million for ecological damage caused by toxic chemical leaks from the defunct facility. The owner has 30 days to pay the fine or appeal to the Pollution Control Hearings Board. The Cosmo Specialty Fibers pulp mill, once a Weyerhaeuser specialty cellulose mill, shuttered its operations in 2022, but the facility’s non-operational storage tanks have leaked toxic chemicals ever since. …The site’s owner [Richard Bassett] has been issued several notices to address dangerous spills for almost a decade, but the Department’s request has consistently been met with inaction. …In April, Bassett said he intends to reconcile with the state after he reopens operations at the mill. …Bassett’s track record shows an interest in Northwest towns with decrepit pulp mills. His past ventures include an unsuccessful attempt 20 years ago to reopen the Port Alice mill in British Columbia.