Washington state agency cited over worker’s drowning

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries said Tuesday that it cited the state’s Fish and Wildlife Department after an employee drowned at a fish trap in January.

The employee was working on the Duckabush River in Brinnon when the drowning occurred.

Fish and Wildlife was cited for nine workplace safety violations and issued $114,000 in penalties. The agency had been cited in March in connection with the drowning of a fisheries biologist last year.

Workplace safety penalties in Washington go into the state’s workers compensation supplemental pension fund, which helps family members of those who die on the job.