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Icicle Seafoods issued complaint for violations of the Clean Water Act

Release Date: 11/28/2006
Contact Information: Margo Young, EPA, (206) 553-1603, young.margo@epa.gov Cynthia Magnuson, DOJ, (202) 514-1449, cynthia.magnuson@usdoj.gov Tony Brown, EPA, (206) 553-1203, brown.anthony@epa.gov

(Anchorage, Alaska – Nov. 28, 2006) The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), filed a civil complaint against Icicle Seafoods, Inc. (Icicle) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Evening Star, Inc., for violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The complaint seeks monetary penalties and injunctive relief for waste discharges from the processing vessel, the M/V Northern Victor.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) added Udagak Bay to the State’s list of impaired waterbodies in 1998 due to the accumulation of seafood waste that had been discharged by a previous operator of the vessel. A National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by EPA in 1999 authorized the discharge of waste from the M/V Northern Victor to the bay under certain conditions and within certain limits. The permit required the removal of the waste pile by September of 2002. This cleanup has not occurred.

Based on a 2003 ADEC inspection of the vessel and a review of company records, EPA found numerous violations, including Icicle’s failure to monitor the effluent from the M/V Northern Victor, and its seafood waste discharge that, in certain years, exceeded the waste load allocation authorized by the permit.

“Compliance with NPDES permits, especially in impaired waterbodies, is extremely important to EPA and the public” said Michael Bussell, Director of EPA’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement. “Discharges from seafood processors have a large impact in Alaskan waters and NPDES permits help ensure protection of these resources.”

The complaint was filed in federal district court in Anchorage, Alaska. Violations of the CWA may result in a civil penalty of up to $32,500 per day per violation.

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