A group of Oregon state lawmakers representing coastal communities have asked environmental regulators to pause any financial penalties on Clackamas, Oregon, U.S.A.-based seafood processor Pacific Seafood as the company appeals USD 3.2 million (EUR 2.7 million) in fines for wastewater violations.
Pacific Seafood was alerted to the fines in April, which were issued in response to wastewater violations at three of the company’s facilities. The seafood processor has criticized the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for imposing the fines, suggesting that the financial penalties could push them to leave the state altogether.
“Pacific Seafood has operated in Oregon for 85 years; we started with a small storefront on Powell Street in Portland. Now, we are facing obstacles that call into question leaving the state we love because DEQ is destroying the seafood industry," the company said in a statement. "Their targeted actions against us are part of a systematic destruction of the coastal fishing economy including seafood processors, fishermen, ports, coastal businesses, and all the hard-working Oregonians who rely on seafood for their livelihoods."
The company has since appealed the fines, and now the Oregon Coastal Caucus – a group of state legislators representing coastal communities – has backed that appeal. In a 20 May letter to DEQ Director Leah Feldon, the lawmakers criticized the department’s wastewater standards and its decision to issue penalties.
“In recent years, DEQ has advanced wastewater permit requirements for seafood processors that appear to mandate discharge standards substantially more stringent than typical drinking water benchmarks. By the agency’s own acknowledgment, these standards may not be achievable using currently available treatment technologies. At the same time, levels of contaminants considered safe within municipal drinking water systems are deemed unacceptable in seafood processing discharge,” the lawmakers said in a letter first reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting. “DEQ’s handling of the penalty, particularly advancing the matter to the media prior to notification of enforcement to Pacific Seafood or any final attempt to resolve the matter prior to issuing the penalties, was inappropriate and may have adversely affected Pacific’s reputation.”
The lawmakers also repeated Pacific Seafood’s complaint that DEQ had not given the company the guidance needed to install a treatment system at its Charleston, Oregon-based facility.
“The company applied for a new wastewater permit in 2021; however, as of March 2026, DEQ indicated it was only beginning to draft that permit. This prolonged delay has left the facility without the defined limits and engineering benchmarks necessary to design and implement an appropriate treatment system,” the lawmakers said. “Despite the absence of final permit conditions, the company has been encouraged to pursue significant capital investments in wastewater infrastructure, while being informed that future permit limits may not reflect achievable treatment capabilities and could ultimately render those investments obsolete.”
In their letter, the lawmakers asked DEQ to stay any enforcement of penalties during the appeal process. They also called for a meeting with Pacific Seafood executives, DEQ leadership, the governor’s office, and other stakeholders to set a timeline for addressing the violations.
“Our coastal communities, fishing families, and seafood workers depend on a regulatory system that supports, not undermines, their ability to thrive. The coast deserves a collaborative partner in DEQ, not a penalty collector,” the lawmakers added.
According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, DEQ has scheduled a settlement meeting with Pacific Seafood in June.
