The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) identified multiple workplace safety violations linked to two recent incidents involving the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
One included the drowning of a scientific technician and the other saw a worker suffer a head injury.
In January, 48-year-old Mary Valentine drowned at a fish trap on the Duckabush River in Brinnon. A month later, two WDFW scientific technicians had their boat capsize on the Nisqually River fish trap near Yelm. One of them hit the underside of the trap and suffered a head injury that required hospitalization.
The new violations come after L&I previously cited and fined WDFW in March for several infractions connected to the 2023 drowning of 31-year-old fisheries biologist Erin Peterson while she was working on the Wind River in Skamania County.
L&I has cited WDFW for willful violations of both recent incidents. A willful violation occurs when an employer knows safety requirements but fails to implement them. L&I contends that WDFW lacked adequate training programs and did not provide necessary training for employees working in outdoor environments.