Washington environmental regulators have identified 35 violations at Nippon Dynawave Packaging following the catastrophic white liquor tank failure at the company’s Longview pulp and paper mill.

The Washington Department of Ecology issued its notice of violation on August 26, covering environmental impacts and compliance issues associated with the May 26, 2026 disaster.

The tank failure released approximately 900,000 gallons of highly caustic white liquor and resulted in the deaths of 11 employees.

For the pulp and paper industry, however, an important point needs to be made at the outset:

The 35 violations are not the final enforcement outcome.

They represent Ecology’s initial findings following inspections, reviews of company records and interviews with Nippon Dynawave personnel.

Nippon Dynawave now has 30 days from issuance of the notice to respond or provide additional information before Ecology determines whether individual violations should result in penalties, compliance orders or other enforcement measures.

White Liquor Reached Storm Drains and Nearby Waterways

Most of the violations identified by Ecology relate to what happened after white liquor escaped from the failed storage tank and spread across the industrial property.

According to the agency, the liquor entered storm drains and the mill’s sanitary wastewater treatment system.

Some material bypassed treatment and discharged to the Columbia River.

Larger volumes also entered a nearby ditch before an outfall could be closed. Ecology said the release caused widespread fish deaths and led the City of Longview to post warnings asking residents to stay away from affected areas.

Some environmental effects associated with the incident continued for as long as eight days.

White liquor is part of the kraft pulping chemical recovery cycle and is highly alkaline. In normal mill operation, these process chemicals move through controlled storage, piping and recovery systems.

Once a large quantity escapes those systems, the issue is no longer confined to pulp production. Spill containment, wastewater handling, stormwater pathways and emergency response all become part of the environmental picture.

That appears to be one of the most important lessons from the Longview incident.

Other Violations Concern Waste Plans and Training

Not all of the 35 findings relate directly to chemical discharges.

Ecology said other violations resulted from deficiencies involving plans and training required under Washington’s dangerous waste regulations.

The Longview mill operates under several layers of environmental oversight.

Ecology regulates its air and water permits and dangerous waste activities. The facility is also required to maintain plans addressing spill prevention, stormwater pollution prevention and emergency response.

For example, the mill’s Best Management Practices Plan covers systems intended to prevent, contain, collect and recover spills involving materials including spent pulping liquor.

Its dangerous waste contingency plan separately sets out procedures for responding to releases and other emergencies.

This means the regulatory examination after a large chemical release is not limited to whether a discharge exceeded a numerical permit limit.

Investigators can also examine whether required plans were adequate, whether procedures were followed and whether personnel received the required training.

Potential Fines Have Not Yet Been Determined

Washington law allows Ecology to impose fines of up to $10,000 per violation per day.

About one-quarter of the violations identified in the notice lasted for multiple days, according to the agency.

That does not mean the maximum statutory amount will automatically be applied.

Ecology specifically noted that not every cited violation will necessarily result in enforcement. Some actions taken while workers were responding to the emergency could qualify for exemptions under emergency provisions.

The agency can also issue a compliance order requiring corrective work rather than, or in addition to, a monetary penalty.

Ecology has up to two years to take enforcement action related to the violations.

That distinction is important when reporting the case.

At this stage, 35 environmental violations have been identified, but no final penalty associated with this notice has yet been announced.

State Could Also Seek Response and Environmental Damage Costs

The financial consequences may extend beyond conventional permit fines.

Ecology said it intends to recover costs incurred by the state during the emergency response.

Nippon Dynawave could also face a Natural Resource Damage Assessment based on environmental harm caused by the white liquor release.

Such costs are separate from the question of whether individual permit or dangerous waste violations result in penalties.

This creates several potential layers of liability arising from the same incident: regulatory fines, mandatory corrective measures, emergency response costs and possible natural resource damages.

For mills handling large inventories of process chemicals, that is an important distinction.

The consequences of a major containment failure can extend far beyond the damaged equipment itself.

Ecology Does Not Regulate the Tank’s Structural Integrity

Perhaps the most important regulatory distinction in this case is what Ecology is not investigating.

The agency regulates environmental compliance at the Nippon Dynawave site, but it does not oversee the structural integrity or process safety of the white liquor storage tank that failed.

Those questions are being examined through separate investigations.

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is conducting a workplace-safety investigation, while the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board is investigating the causes of the tank failure.

The Washington Attorney General’s Office has also received concurrent jurisdiction to investigate whether any potential criminal activity contributed to the incident.

That separation matters.

An environmental violation notice can document where chemicals went, how wastewater or stormwater systems were affected and whether environmental rules were followed.

It does not by itself determine why the storage tank structurally failed or assign responsibility for worker deaths.

CSB Investigation Raises Separate Questions About Tank Condition

The environmental notice was followed by another major development.

On August 28, the Chemical Safety Board said its investigation had found that an inspection conducted in July 2025, around 10 months before the disaster, identified portions of the G Tank’s carbon-steel shell that had thinned below the calculated minimum safe thickness.

According to the CSB’s investigation update, Nippon Dynawave was informed that the tank was not fit for continued service and could fail. The CSB investigation remains open, and its final report has not yet been released.

These preliminary findings should therefore not be confused with Ecology’s 35 environmental violations.

They address a different question: the condition and management of the storage tank before the failure.

Ecology’s case largely addresses environmental compliance and the consequences of the chemical release after the failure occurred.

Keeping those two issues separate is essential as the investigations develop.

Longview Mill Operates at Significant Industrial Scale

The Longview operation is a kraft pulp and paper mill and liquid packaging paperboard facility.

According to Ecology’s facility information, the pulp and paper operation employs around 550 people and produces approximately 280,000 tons per year of bleached liquid packaging paperboard, wetlap pulp and slush pulp.

The site’s wastewater treatment operation also handles wastewater from several other industrial facilities in the area.

That interconnected industrial infrastructure adds another dimension to emergency planning at a large integrated mill.

Pulp mills contain tanks, chemical recovery systems, wastewater operations, boilers, piping networks and process areas that normally function as parts of one production system.

A serious failure in one area can therefore create consequences across several regulatory and operational boundaries.

What the Paper Industry Should Watch Next

For the pulp and paper sector, the next development is not simply the size of a possible fine.

There are several separate questions still to be answered.

Ecology must determine which of its 35 findings will move into formal enforcement and whether corrective orders will accompany any monetary penalties.

The Labor & Industries investigation will address workplace-safety issues.

The CSB investigation will continue examining the technical and organizational circumstances surrounding the catastrophic tank failure.

And other legal investigations could produce additional findings.

If those investigations identify further environmental violations, Ecology has already said it could pursue additional enforcement action.

The broader industry issue is therefore larger than spill response alone.

For kraft pulp mills, chemical storage, secondary containment, drainage routes, wastewater systems, emergency planning, equipment inspection and process safety are interconnected.

The Longview disaster shows what can happen when a failure crosses those boundaries.

For now, the 35 environmental violations mark one regulatory stage in a much larger investigation — not the conclusion of the Nippon Dynawave case.

Last Updated on 01/09/2026 by Jota Machinery