A Sitka company is paying $75,000 for improperly disposing fish waste in the Valdez harbor.
KCAW reports (http://bit.ly/1N0tBA5) a 2014 dive survey showed a Silver Bay Seafoods pipe was discharging waste at a depth of three feet, above the 60-foot requirement.
Department of Environmental Conservation compliance manager Mike Solter says waste released in shallow water can pile up and smother the sea floor.
Silver Bay CEO Rich Riggs said in statement that the company takes responsibility for the incident and has taken steps to prevent future occurrences, which Solter says helped lower the possible fine.
Solter said the company hired a full-time environmental staff member, and the Valdez plant is working to reduce waste, freeze it onsite, then haul it to a landfill or to be recycled.
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Information from: KCAW-FM, http://www.kcaw.org
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