Yardarm Knot Fisheries to Pay $11,000 Penalty for Fish Waste Violations

The Northwest office of the Environmental Protection Agency today announced that Yardarm Knot Fisheries, which operates the Red Salmon Cannery in Naknek, has agreed to pay $11,000 to settle an EPA-issued complaint for violations of the federal Clean Water Act.

While the facility has a permit to discharge its fish processing waste into the Naknek River, after a June 2003 inspection, an EPA inspector determined that the company was violating important terms of its Clean Water Act permit. Among the violations noted are:

• failure to properly treat seafood processing waste and ensure seafood wastes discharged into the Naknek River do not exceed one-half inch in diameter;

• failure to conduct daily inspections of the facility’s waste conveyance systems as required by the company’s discharge permit,

• failure to maintain seafood waste conveyance systems, and

"Seafood processing is a critical element of Alaska’s economy," said Mike Bussell, Director of the EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance office in Seattle. "But it shouldn’t be done at the expense of the environment that the seafood industry depends upon.

"Strong enforcement actions help level the playing field by forcing non-compliant operators to invest in treatment technologies and practices that their competitors have adopted in order to obey the law and protect their environment."