Conditions haven’t improved at the defunct and degrading pulp mill along the Chehalis River, which had once been the keystone for the small city of Cosmopolis.
Really, things have grown worse, so state regulators are increasing the pressure on the mill, Cosmo Specialty Fibers, and its often-absent owner who has been trying to resurrect the business for years now.
The mill, about 100 miles southwest of Seattle and on the outskirts of Aberdeen, has been closed since 2022, accumulating environmental violations and fines in the years since. On Tuesday, officials with Washington’s Department of Ecology, leveled their biggest penalty yet, slapping a total of $2.3 million in fines against the company.
“We need the owner to take this situation seriously and immediately address the threats stemming from a lack of maintenance and oversight,” Bobbak Talebi, director of Ecology’s Southwest Region, said in a release. “These urgent safety issues cannot wait. It’s too dangerous and there’s too much at risk.”
That owner, Richard Bassett, declined to comment Tuesday morning. He’s long had a grand vision for reopening the pulp mill, which would produce a product essential for everyday items like aspirin, phone and computer screens, fabrics and cosmetics. But since the mill’s closure, the property has languished and rusted, leaking acid and other hazardous substances left behind from when it was operating.
Currently, the mill has more than 800,000 gallons of corrosive chemicals left over, Ecology’s release says. Not only are the tanks holding these liquids leaking, but Bassett has been unresponsive to the numerous requests and demands that he clean up the site.
This means the threat of a significant spill grows as time passes, the release said.
For this latest and largest penalty, officials with Ecology cited Bassett for multiple violations related the dangerous conditions and his lack of action. State officials have previously cited and fined Bassett for a long history of environmental violations, including tens of thousands in unpaid fees, discharge violations and industrial spills.
Bassett still owes the state hundreds of thousands of dollars for carbon emission allowances and unpaid air and water permitting fees.
“We gave the owner time and many opportunities to make corrections and achieve his vision for the facility,” Talebi said. “Whether the mill is operating or not, by law, they must protect the people and environment around this facility.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
