The owner of a tug that released oily bilge water into the Columbia River last year is being penalized $21,000 by the Washington Department of Ecology. Sound Freight Lines’ tug Black Hawk discharged an estimated 150 gallons of lubricating and diesel oils while transiting near Willow Grove on the Columbia River during the morning hours of Jan. 29, 2009. The sheen went unreported until mid-day when observers on the river called the U.S. Coast Guard and Ecology. By then, it was too late for responders to do more than collect samples for further investigation. Ecology spills investigators collected samples from all the commercial vessels that had been in the area at the time of the spill and were able to match the oily discharge to the Black Hawk’s bilge contents.