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Public Notice: Pacific Seafood-Eureka, LLC, Eureka, CA: Proposed Settlement of Clean Water Act Class II Administrative Penalty

How to Comment

Comments accepted through: 08/27/2020

Please provide your full name and mailing address. Please submit your comment in writing stating that you are providing comments on the proposed assessment of a penalty pursuant to Section 309(g)(4) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. § 1319(g)(4), and intend to participate in the proceeding. Please include the following Docket Number (CWA-09-2020-0049) with your comments.

All comments must be submitted to the Regional Hearing Clerk (address below), within 30 days of the date of this public notice (see 40 C.F.R. § 22.45(b)). If the 30th day of the comment period falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the deadline shall be extended to the next business day. EPA will consider all comments received within this 30-day period before issuance of the final order.

We encourage electronic submittals, including in addition to any required hard copy submissions, but if you are unable to submit electronically or need other assistance, please reach out to the contact listed in the notice or regulation or, if unavailable, the responsible EPA program’s general contact email or phone number. If you need assistance in a language other than English or if you are a person with disabilities who needs a reasonable accommodation at no cost to you, please reach out to the listed contact by email or phone.

Name, Mailing Address, Telephone Number, and Email of Regional Hearing Clerk
Steven Armsey
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9
75 Hawthorne Street (ORC-1)
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 972-3919
r9hearingclerk@epa.gov

Consent Agreement and Final Order (Proposed CA/FO)

Publish Date: 07/27/2020

Summary

In accordance with Section 309(g)(1)(A) and 2(B) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. § 1319(g)(1)(A) and 2(B), and the Consolidated Rules of Practice at 40 C.F.R. Part 22, notice is hereby given of a proposed settlement, recorded in a Consent Agreement and Final Order (Proposed CA/FO), between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 (EPA or Complainant), and Pacific Seafood-Eureka, LLC (Respondent) to resolve the following civil administrative penalty proceeding under Section 309(g) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. § 1319(g).

On July 16, 2020, pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 22.13(b) and 22.18(b)(2) and (3), Complainant and Respondent entered into a Proposed CA/FO to simultaneously commence and conclude this CWA Class II civil administrative penalty proceeding. The Proposed CA/FO requires Respondent to pay the United States a penalty of seventy-four-thousand-five-hundred dollars ($74,500). Payment of this penalty will resolve EPA’s allegations that Respondent violated CWA Section 301(a) on at least one (1) day by discharging pollutants from a point source into waters of the United States without NPDES permit authorization and violated Section 307(d) of the CWA on at least six (6) days by operating a source in violation of pretreatment standards established under Section 307(b) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. § 1317(b).

In the Matter of Pacific Seafood-Eureka, LLC, Docket Number CWA-09-2020-0049

Complainant: Amy C. Miller-Bowen, Director, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division, U.S. EPA, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105.
Respondent: Pacific Seafood-Eureka, LLC, 1 Commercial Street, Eureka, California 95501.
Description of Business or Activity Conducted by the Respondent: Pacific Seafood-Eureka, LLC receives fish and seafood directly from boats docked at its facility and processes fish, oysters, crabs, and shrimp.
Summary of Alleged Violations: Pacific Seafood-Eureka, LLC’s wastewater from shrimp processing bypassed the pretreatment system and discharged to waters of United States via a stormwater drain. On multiple occasions, the Respondent discharged gloves, labels, and shells to the City of Eureka’s sanitary sewer that clogged the sewer collection system.
Proposed Penalty: $74,500

Applicant or Respondent

Pacific Seafood-Eureka, LLC
1 Commercial Street
Eureka, CA 95501