Ecology Fines Crystal Ocean Seafood $180,000

Washington State Department of Ecology

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 10, 1997

97-125

CONTACTS: Ken White, (425) 649-7127, water quality enforcement specialist
Lori LeVander, (425) 649-7039, water quality facility manager
Larry Altose, (425) 649-7192, outreach specialist

Ecology Fines Crystal Ocean Seafood $180,000

Bellevue, WA - The Department of Ecology has issued a $180,000 penalty against Crystal Ocean Seafood, Inc., formerly of Burlington, Skagit County, for dumping wastewater onto the ground. The company violated a state water quality permit by not delivering its wastewater to the City of Bellingham wastewater treatment plant. Ecology has fined the fish processing company two other times within the past two years for water quality permit violations.

"The wastewater discharge permit was very clear," said Dick Wallace, Ecology's acting water quality program manager. "Wastewater was not to be applied to land. All fish processing wastewater from the plant was to be adequately pre-treated and trucked to Bellingham's treatment plant. Instead, witnesses have told us that the company sent truckloads of high strength seafood processing wastewater to fields outside Burlington. There was a potential for stream and well pollution, and the company was avoiding costs that other facilities in the same industry do bear." The trucks drove onto the fields 268 times on 45 days and emptied their tank loads there. The violations occurred from July through September of last year.

Fish processing wastewater can cause health and environmental problems, according to Ken White, water quality enforcement specialist for Ecology's northwest region. "The wastewater contains high levels of nitrogen compounds that can leach into streams or wells," he said. "In streams, these pollutants deplete water of oxygen and increase nitrogen levels, killing fish and other organisms. If drinking water contains excessive nitrogen compounds, these react with the blood so it can't carry as much oxygen. This is why land application of wastewater from industrial processes, including food processing, is allowed only under very specific controlled conditions. It happens that we have no evidence that this episode reached the point where wells or streams were polluted."

Crystal Ocean Seafood has been fined twice before by Ecology for water quality violations:

October 1996: $12,000 for multiple wastewater permit violations. The company delivered more pollutants to the Bellingham wastewater treatment plant than allowed under its permit. The company appealed to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board. Ecology and Crystal Ocean settled the case May 19, 1997 for $11,000.
May 1995: $9,000 for inadequately treating wastewater and spraying it on nearby fields at concentrations greater than the fields could assimilate, prompting numerous odor complaints. The company did not appeal and the penalty was paid in full.

In August 1995 Ecology ordered the company to stop land application of wastewater from surimi production because the firm could not properly manage the high level of wastewater produced. Ecology provided technical assistance to help the company overcome its wastewater treatment problems. A revised wastewater permit, issued April 30, 1996 enabled the surimi operation to resume. The permit spelled out pre-treatment requirements for all fish processing wastewater prior to its delivery to the Bellingham wastewater treatment plant. The permit prohibited land application of the wastewater.

Crystal Ocean Seafood also has paid $25,750 in fines for 23 penalties from the Northwest Air Pollution Control Authority for odor violations from March 1995 to September 1996.

Early this year the company relocated its operations to Astoria, Oregon.

The company may appeal its penalty directly to Ecology within 15 days or to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board within 30 days.