This letter is reproduced here exactly as sent on June 7, 2026 (mail), with no wording changed for this website — including its original formatting and any typographical or factual errors present in the letter as sent. The one explicit exception is David’s personal phone number, redacted per his standing instruction for this site (matching how every other letter in this set has had its phone number redacted). The signature block's street address has also been omitted to match this site's standard convention for the signature line used across every other letter in this archive. Name, email, and the full text of the letter are unchanged. The original signed PDF is available via the Download PDF button above.
David Ginsberg
Safe Waterways and Air | safewaterandair@gmail.com
June 7, 2026
Mady Lyon, Environmental Engineer
Washington State Department of Ecology
300 Desmond Drive SE
Lacey, WA 98503
mady.lyon@ecy.wa.gov
Re: Regulatory Inquiry — Port Townsend Paper Company (PTPC), 100 Mill Road, Port Townsend, Washington
Dear Ms. Lyon,
I am writing to you as a resident of Port Townsend, Washington. I have been studying the regulatory record of Port Townsend Paper Company (PTPC) since the Longview disaster of May 26, 2026, and I am reaching out in that spirit — as a neighbor seeking clarity, not as an adversary. I appreciate the work your agency does on behalf of Washington communities.
On May 26, 2026, eleven workers were killed at a kraft paper facility in Longview, Washington when a white liquor storage tank imploded. Washington State confirmed that no agency had independently inspected that tank. Port Townsend Paper Company (PTPC) operates the same type of equipment. I believe the community of Port Townsend deserves to know whether the gap that cost eleven lives in Longview exists here as well.
I am respectfully requesting your assistance with the following four questions:
1. Risk Management Plan status.
Is Port Townsend Paper Company (PTPC) registered under the federal Risk Management Plan program pursuant to Clean Air Act Section 112(r)? If it has been determined to fall below applicable thresholds, I would appreciate a copy of that determination.
2. Inspection records.
When was the most recent independent inspection of Port Townsend Paper Company (PTPC)'s white liquor tanks, pressure vessels, and chemical storage tanks conducted by a state or federal agency — as distinct from company self-reporting?
3. Post-Longview assessment.
Has the Washington State Department of Ecology taken any action to assess the structural integrity of white liquor tanks at Washington kraft paper facilities following the May 26, 2026 Longview disaster? If so, I would appreciate any documentation available to the public.
4. Outstanding compliance items.
Are there any currently open compliance matters between the Washington State Department of Ecology and Port Townsend Paper Company (PTPC) that the public record reflects?
I recognize these are specific questions and I am grateful for whatever you are able to share. I am copying the Jefferson County Local Emergency Planning Committee on this letter, as these questions bear directly on community emergency preparedness.
Respectfully,
David Ginsberg
Port Townsend, WA 98368
davidbginsberg@gmail.com
Safe Waterways and Air | safewaterandair@gmail.com
cc: United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 — epa-seattle@epa.gov
cc: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, Division of Occupational Safety and Health — lniDOSHenf@lni.wa.gov
cc: Brad Brooks, Jefferson County Local Emergency Planning Committee — bbrooks@co.jefferson.wa.us