Whidbey Island boat builder penalized for dangerous waste violations

Unsafe management of dangerous waste has been a recurring problem at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders on Whidbey Island. Today, the Washington Department of Ecology issued a $39,000 penalty to Ice Floe LLC dba Nichols Brothers Boat Builders for dangerous waste violations found during a November 2025 inspection.

Nichols Brothers is classified as a large quantity generator of dangerous waste, which is waste that is ignitable, corrosive, reactive, and/or toxic. The business commonly generates paints, solvents, used oils, sandblast abrasives, and other industrial waste.

Since 2011, six separate Ecology inspections found that Nichols Brothers was not properly identifying, labeling, or safely storing its dangerous wastes. Ecology's previous compliance efforts sometimes resulted in short-term improvements, but issues have persisted over the long term.

This is not the first time Nichols Brothers has incurred an environmental penalty for improperly managing wastes. A 2022 inspection by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency resulted in an enforcement action that was settled for $5,375 in 2023.

Most recently, Ecology conducted an inspection in November 2025 and cited 20 violations, many of which were repeat violations found during previous inspections. These violations included failure to promptly designate waste, exceeding the accumulation time limit for containers of dangerous waste, failure to keep containers of dangerous waste closed, failure to label containers of dangerous waste properly, and failure to label containers of dangerous waste with accumulation start dates. Additional violations included failure to have an adequate contingency plan for emergencies and failure to conduct weekly inspections.

The penalty is for the violations that present the most risk and are recurring issues at the facility: failure to designate waste, storing dangerous waste on-site beyond the allowed time, failure to keep dangerous waste containers closed, and failure to properly label dangerous waste containers.

"The first step in managing dangerous waste is knowing what type of waste you have and labeling it properly. You need to know what you're handling to keep your employees and the environment safe," said Christa Colouzis, regional section manager for Ecology's Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction program. "We're concerned that this business hasn't been able to establish long-term practices for safely managing their dangerous waste."

"Nichols Brothers takes environmental compliance and safety very seriously," said Gavin Higgins, Chief Executive Officer of Nichols Brothers Boat Builders. "We have established robust procedures to ensure compliance at all times with state and federal requirements and the use of best practices for the management of dangerous waste. We have not yet seen the penalty notice from the Department, and we will determine the Company's response once we receive it. We respect and welcome Ecology's advice and input, and look forward to working closely with Ecology's team to continually ensure that our management of dangerous waste meets and exceeds their requirements."

Preventing problems from happening in the first place is key to safe management of dangerous waste. If not properly managed, it can quickly become a safety issue for workers, public health, and the environment. Ensuring that companies protect workers and Washington's marine environment from hazardous waste is essential for a strong shipbuilding industry.

Nichols Brothers has 30 days to pay the penalty or appeal it to the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board.