The city of Snoqualmie paid a $12,000 penalty to the Washington Department of Ecology for a November, 2013 incident that affected the city’s wastewater plan. A brief power surge rendered some of the treatment equipment inoperable for nearly 24 hours.

The original fine, issued last year, was $32,000, but was reduced to $22,000, then cut by another $10,000 as long as the city completes a set of planned wastewater system projects by May 31, 2017. The city also must remain in compliance with its permit.

“This settlement will close the book on that incident,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, water quality program section manager for the Northwest Regional Office.

As part of the settlement, Snoqualmie agreed to several plant improvements:

· Develop and implement a mitigation plan for problems in the system.

· Upgrade the backup system to power the full system, not just key components.

· Upgrade the wastewater disinfection process.

“Our goal is and always has been to protect water quality,” said Dan Marcinko, public works director.