Dam owner to pay $1M in rubber pollution of Washington river

Particles of rubber from Astroturf used in a retrofit of Electron Hydropower Project are found on the banks of the Puyallup River 14 miles down from the dam, Aug. 27, 2020. A company that operates a more than century-old hydroelectric dam near Mount Rainier National Park will pay $1 million after synthetic field turf and its tiny rubber particles spilled into the Puyallup River in 2020. The Washington state attorney general's office said Monday that a Pierce County Superior Court judge approved the settlement amount last week. (Steve Ringman/The Seattle Times via AP)