State regulators have come down hard on Seattle Barrel Company, hitting the longtime drum‑refurbishing operation with a $150,000 penalty after finding it repeatedly fell short on basic rules for handling dangerous waste at its Seattle facility. During a 2025 inspection, regulators say the company failed to properly identify, store or track hazardous materials, and fell behind on emergency planning and employee training. The fresh fine lands on top of a long compliance history for the century‑old business, which was criminally prosecuted in 2023 over illegal wastewater discharges.
Inspection findings and state order
According to the Washington Department of Ecology, inspectors in February 2025 determined the company had not documented whether washwater, evaporator sludge, filters and absorbent pads should be managed as dangerous waste, failed to track dangerous waste through disposal, and stored hazardous materials in unsafe ways. Ecology issued a $150,000 penalty for those dangerous waste violations.
The agency says Seattle Barrel corrected some of the problems but never responded to a legal order issued in August 2025 that gave the business 30 days to fix what was left. “Ensuring they’re testing and documenting whether their waste is hazardous, training staff on what to do in emergencies, and regularly inspecting their dangerous waste storage are all basic safety principles,” Katrina Lassiter, manager of Ecology’s Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction Program, said.
Federal conviction and penalties
In 2023, federal prosecutors said the business, then operating as Seattle Barrel and Cooperage Company, and its owner, Louie Sanft, ran a years‑long scheme that included dumping highly caustic wastewater into the sewer and concealing the discharges, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Sanft was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $250,000, and the company was placed on five years of probation as part of the federal case.
How the discharges threatened the sewer
DOJ court records describe covert monitoring that picked up discharges with pH readings above 12, and investigators later uncovered a pump feeding a hidden drain. Those conditions can corrode sewer pipes and endanger utility workers and marine habitat. “These defendants sent dangerous caustic chemicals into our sewer system once a week for years,” Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said in the DOJ release, a line that helps explain why regulators have kept the company under close watch. Ecology and federal agents say the volume of the discharges and the concealment efforts are at the core of the string of enforcement actions over the last decade…