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Two Alaska Seafood Processors Agree to Pay for Clean Water Act Violations

Release Date: 02/06/2006
Contact Information: Contact: Margo Young, EPA Region 10, Seattle, WA (206) 553-1603 Tony Brown, Public Affairs, EPA Region 10, Seattle, WA (206) 553-1203

February 6, 2006


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently reached settlements totaling $28,000 with two Alaska seafood processors for violations of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA).

Island Seafoods Inc. has agreed to pay $5,000 for waste water discharge violations at its Kodiak facility. During an August 2003 inspection, EPA found several violations of the facility’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit including failing to properly treat all seafood waste prior to discharge, failing to maintain adequate records and failing to submit records as required under the permit.

North Pacific Processors Inc. has agreed to pay $23,000 for waste water violations at its Cordova facility, which is currently operated by Bear & Wolf Co. During an August 2004 inspection, EPA found numerous violations of the facility’s NPDES permit. The violations included failure to route all seafood processing waste through a treatment system prior to discharge, failure to grind seafood solids to one-half inch or less and failure to minimize the discharge of waste water which causes build-up of foam and scum on the surface of the water.

“The seafood processing industry is critical to Alaska’s economy,” said Marcia Combes, Director of EPA's Alaska Office in Anchorage. “But it must manage its waste water in a way that protects the environment that the seafood ultimately depends upon."

As authorized by the Clean Water Act, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States.

Region 10 Water website (yosemite.epa.gov/R10/WATER.NSF/)