Two oil refinery operators in northwest Washington, HF Sinclair and Tesoro, have been hit with fines for improper management of oily sludge and acid waste at their facilities.

Washington’s Department of Ecology said Tuesday that HF Sinclair would be penalized $1,303,000 and Tesoro $1,397,000 for violations of dangerous waste laws. Both companies run refineries located in Anacortes.

Each of them has 30 days to pay the penalties or appeal to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board.

The penalty against HF Sinclair stems from a September 2023 incident where oily process wastewater overflowed into a spill containment area at the company’s refinery.

The containment area is intended to capture spills of non-hazardous wastewater and was not designed to be a dangerous waste storage area, acc

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