Peter Pan Seafoods has settled and paid a USD 750,000 (EUR 714,603) fine from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for violations of the Clean Water Act.
In a recent release, the EPA said processing facilities operated by Peter Pan in Valdez and King Cove, Alaska illegally discharged seafood processing waste beyond the one-acre “zone of deposit,” which created a larger seafood pile on the sea floor. Peter Pan closed its King Cover processing facility for the pollock A season in January 2024, and the Valdez-based facility is now owned by Silver Bay Seafoods after it took over the facility.
The EPA first levied the fines against Peter Pan in May 2024, and according to the EPA Peter Pan has now officially settled the issue with its payment.
According to the original consent degree between the companies and the EPA, first issued in May, Peter Pan discharged seafood processing waste at its King Cove facility from a broken outfall pipe at an incorrect depth, “among other permit violations.”
“Alaska is the only state where zones of deposit are permitted at seafood processing facilities,” the EPA said.
The EPA said Silver Bay Seafoods has agreed to implement compliance measures at its Valdez facility to avoid future violations. Peter Pan’s successor at the King Cove facility, meanwhile, has agreed to conduct an audit to identify and correct non-compliance.
“The companies’ compliance actions will reduce the environmental impact of their operations,” the EPA said.
The consent decree also indicates that an outfall pipe at the King Cove facility, which was decommissioned in May 2023, shall no longer be used.
Both companies will also have to provide updates to the EPA by 31 March each year of its actions in the preceding 12 months including any construction or compliance measures. If the companies fail to meet those reporting compliance, they will be given fines that start at USD 500 (EUR 476) per day of noncompliance and escalate up to a USD 2,000 (EUR 1,904) fine per day after 31 days of noncompliance.
