Summary

Permit Application Number: OD 2020-01 Research

Pursuant to Section 102 of the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, as amended (MPRSA), 33 U.S.C. §§ 1401 et seq. and 40 C.F.R. § 222.3 of EPA's Ocean Dumping Regulations, notice is hereby given by this office of a complete application for a research permit to transport and dispose fish processing liquid wastes into ocean waters offshore of Pago Pago Harbor, Tutuila Island, American Samoa. The permit applicant is: STARKIST SAMOA COMPANY, P.O. Box 368, Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799.

EPA Region 9 has made a tentative decision to issue a research permit to StarKist Samoa Company (StarKist) for an 18-month period. EPA has determined that this research permit is necessary to collect data to determine if the proposed fish processing liquid wastes currently produced at the StarKist tuna cannery located in American Samoa (Facility) and transported for ocean disposal offshore of Pago Pago Harbor are substantially the same as the historic fish processing liquid wastes disposed under earlier special permits, Fish processing methodology and facility waste stream infrastructure have changed since mid-2012 when ocean disposal was discontinued at this Facility. The proposed fish processing liquid wastes to be disposed from StarKist are: dissolved air flotation (DAF) sludge, precooker water, and presswater, as authorized at 40 C.F.R. § 228.15(m)(1)(vi). This research permit does not allow the disposal of other fish processing liquid wastes (i.e., butcher water), fish concentrate, other fish processing solid wastes (i.e., carcasses, entrails), or other solid materials from the StarKist Facility. Based on dilution levels expected at the designated ocean disposal site, the three allowable fish processing liquid wastes are not expected to cause significant long-term impacts to oceanic water quality, marine ecosystems, or human health if the proposed fish processing liquid wastes to be generated are substantially the same as the historic fish processing liquid wastes.

The proposed fish processing wastes will be disposed at an ocean disposal site located 5.45 nautical miles southeast of Tutuila Island. The ocean disposal site has center coordinates of 14° 24.00' South latitude by 170° 38.20' West longitude and a radius of 1.5 nautical miles. The water depth at the disposal site is about 9,000 feet. This site was designated for use on February 6, 1990 (55 Fed. Reg. 3948) and was used by two American Samoa canneries for disposal of fish processing wastes under MPRSA Section 102 special permits OD 90-01 and 93-01 (StarKist Samoa), and OD 90-02 and 93-02 (COS Samoa Packing Company), and under administrative extensions, consistent with MPRSA Section 104B(k)(3)(B), 33 U.S.C. §§1414b(k)(3)(B). No significant long-term environmental impacts were found at the site during monitoring of the upper water column and the disposal plumes were shown to disperse rapidly within the ocean disposal site boundaries. StarKist discontinued ocean disposal of fish processing liquid waste at this location approximately in mid-2012; fish processing liquid wastes have not been disposed at this designated site since that time.

During the term of this research permit, the permittee must monitor the combined fish processing waste streams relative to constituent limits listed in the research permit, maintain disposal vessel navigation logs, conduct field observations during disposal trips, regulate fish processing liquid waste discharges in accordance with seasonal discharge rate requirements, conduct ocean disposal site monitoring on a monthly basis, conduct periodic confirmatory bioassays (at least two rounds of bioassays in the 18 months), and conduct confirmatory discharge plume dispersion modeling with updated ocean current data. Information compiled during the term of this research permit and any other information collected about the ocean disposal of fish processing liquid wastes off American Samoa will be used by EPA Region 9 to compare these proposed fish processing liquid wastes to the historic fish processing liquid wastes, and to determine compliance with EPA's Ocean Dumping Regulations at 40 C.F.R. Parts 220 through 228 and the MPRSA Section 102 permit program.

Summary of Information and Tentative Determination

DAF sludge is waste material that remains after treatment of fish processing wastes to remove grease and suspended particulate matter. DAF sludge also contains aluminum sulfate or alum (an odor reducing chemical) and coagulant polymers (to coagulate suspended matter) that are added during the waste treatment process. Precooker water or cooker juice is a combination of steam condensate, stick water, and other process water that collects when the fish is pre-cooked in steam ovens. Presswater, or press liquor, is waste water produced during fish meal processing when fish scrap is cooked and pressed before being dried to produce livestock/pet food meal. These three liquid waste streams will be combined in an onshore storage tank prior to transport to the ocean disposal site.

The overall expected volume of fish processing wastes proposed for disposal by the applicant shall not exceed 300,000 gallons/day. This overall volume is less than the combined daily maximum volume (400,000 gallons/day) allowed under the previous special permits for the two operating canneries. The proposed disposal vessel has an onboard tank with a capacity of 300,000 gallons and it is expected that loading to full capacity will take more than 24 hours from the onshore storage tank with a capacity of 250,000 gallons (November 8, 2019 email communication from Geosyntec).

Based on EPA Region 9's review of data collected under the previous MPRSA Section 102 special permits as well as more recent data collected by the applicant, EPA expects the following from this research permit: 1) the permittee will monitor the levels of Total Solids, Total Volatile Solids, 5-Day Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Oil and Grease, Total Phosphorus, Total Nitrogen, Ammonia, pH, and Density to compare their respective levels with the previous special permits; 2) the permittee will conduct at least two sets of confirmatory suspended phase acute toxicity bioassays to confirm similar toxicity potential as the previous permitted waste streams; 3) conduct confirmatory discharge plume dispersion modeling with updated ocean current data; and 4) the permittee will ensure vessel disposal trip data, site monitoring data, and waste stream characterization data is compiled in a secure online database maintained by a third party compliance monitoring contractor and accessible for review by EPA Region 9. The vessel disposal trip data, site monitoring data, and waste stream characterization data can be made available to agencies or individuals upon written request. All other general and special conditions are similar to conditions in the earlier MPRSA Section 102 special permits.