Alaskan Seafood Processor Fined for Polluting the Kenai River

Salamatof Seafoods Inc., an Alaskan seafood processor plant located in Kenai, Alaska, has agreed to pay a $38,000 penalty to settle alleged federal Clean Water Act violations.

The Salamatof plant was inspected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation in 2002, 2005 and 2006 and cited for violations of the company’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The plant discharges seafood processing wastewater into the Kenai River, which flows into Cook Inlet.

The alleged violations included unauthorized discharges of seafood processing waste into the Kenai River; failure to monitor; failure to develop and operate in accordance with an appropriate best management practices plan; and failure to submit annual reports.

It is extremely important for seafood processors like Salamatof to continuously monitor their facility operations, according to Kim Ogle, manager of EPA's NPDES Compliance Unit in Seattle. “In impaired waters like the Kenai River, it is especially critical that Salamatof and other processors comply with the NPDES permit” she said. “Discharges from seafood processors can have a large impact in Alaskan waters, and these permits help to protect these resources.”

Source: U.S. EPA