Washington state has fined a paper mill in Port Townsend $734,000 for allegedly sending polluted wastewater into Puget Sound. Washington Department of Ecology officials say the Port Townsend Paper Company was improperly treating its industrial wastewater for at least five months following an unannounced inspection in October 2025. …The mill allegedly let sludge and weeds build up in its wastewater-aeration pond, reducing the volume and ability of the 30-acre open-air pond to handle wastewater before sending it into Port Townsend Bay. Some treatment equipment also was either disconnected or not operating properly, leading the mill to send water with low levels of dissolved oxygen, potentially harmful to marine life, into the bay. Port Townsend Paper Company officials declined to be interviewed but, in an email, said they would appeal the penalty.