Northline settles

Northline Seafoods has settled a court case in which a contractor claimed it was owed nearly $1.3 million for work performed on Northline's processing barge.

Here's the notice of settlement.

Another problem for Peter Pan

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is suing Peter Pan Seafood Co. to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act at processing plants in Valdez and King Cove.

Under a proposed consent decree, Peter Pan and another company, PSF Inc., would pay a civil penalty of $750,000.

The decree lays out requirements to monitor and manage seafood processing waste discharges.

The EPA lawsuit also names Silver Bay Seafoods as a defendant, due to Silver Bay's recent purchase of Peter Pan's Valdez plant.

Transit scheme costs American Seafoods $9.5M

Two subsidiaries of American Seafoods, a major harvester of Bering Sea pollock, have agreed to pay $9.5 million to settle violations of a shipping law known as the Jones Act, federal prosecutors say.

More details in this press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Anchorage.

We've asked American Seafoods for comment.

Trident disability case settles

A notice of settlement has been filed in a case in which a fishing vessel engineer accused Trident Seafoods of firing him because he was missing three fingers.

APICDA, Trident settle

The Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association and Trident Seafoods have settled their legal tussle over the False Pass fish plant.

Trident penalized $297,000 in EPA settlement

Here's the press release.

UniSea penalized $142,175

UniSea Inc., which operates a major seafood processing plant at Dutch Harbor, has settled a case involving alleged Clean Air Act violations.

The settlement includes a $142,175 penalty for UniSea, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says in this press release.

St. Paul concerns resolved, EPA files revised settlement packing $2.5 million fine for Trident

Back in September, we told you about a major enforcement action the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was taking against Alaska's biggest fish processor, Seattle-based Trident Seafoods Corp.

The EPA said Trident had agreed to pay a $2.5 million civil penalty and invest millions of dollars at its various plants to control fish wastes.

After that announcement, interests out of St. Paul, the island community at the center of the Bering Sea, raised certain concerns about the deal.

Now the government says those concerns have been resolved, and an amended settlement has been filed that still includes the $2.5 million fine for Trident and the waste control requirements.

One of those requirements calls for Trident to build a fishmeal plant at Naknek, primary hub of the huge Bristol Bay salmon fishery, by June 1, 2015.

Two processors settle up, save millions

More than two years ago, Deckboss posted an item about pending enforcement actions against two major processors, Peter Pan and Icicle.

The companies were accused of violating limits on crab processing, a very serious matter judging from the fines imposed: around $4.5 million for Peter Pan and $3.4 million for Icicle.

Now we understand the government has quietly agreed to much smaller penalties: $525,000 under the Peter Pan settlement, and $615,000 under the Icicle settlement.

The Icicle case was especially protracted, having begun in 2004.

A truce at Adak

The dispute between Adak Seafood LLC and its reluctant landlord, Aleut Enterprise LLC, appears to be sailing toward resolution.

Lawyers on Monday filed this notice in federal court in Anchorage saying the parties "have reached an agreement in principle to settle" the case.

You'll recall that Aleut went to court back in January to evict Adak Seafood over a lease dispute.

Presumably, the settlement will allow Adak Seafood to stay in the Adak Island fish plant and operate during the upcoming cod season.

The parties pledge to file a progress report within three weeks on their negotiations to finalize the deal.

Trident to pay $34,000 for diesel spills

Here's some news out of Washington state on a settlement Trident Seafoods Corp. has stuck with pollution regulators regarding fuel spills from some of the Seattle-based processor's vessels.

Department of Ecology
State of Washington

July 16, 2009

Ecology settlement with Trident Seafoods aims to prevent oil spills

OLYMPIA — Under a settlement agreement between Trident Seafoods Corp. of Seattle and the Washington Department of Ecology, Trident will pay $34,000 to settle a total of $68,000 in penalties Ecology levied against the company for four vessel spills of diesel fuel to state waters in 2007 and 2008.

Ecology agreed to suspend the remaining $34,000 in recognition of significant improvements in Trident’s environmental compliance program. Trident also must avoid any oil spills 25 gallons or larger during the next three years.

Under the agreement, if the company has an incident Trident will pay Ecology the remaining half of the full penalty amount — on top of any new fines that might be imposed for another spill.

“I’m pleased with this approach. Trident could have just paid the fine and made a verbal pledge to do better,” said Ecology Spills Program Manager Dale Jensen. “Instead, the company is taking on a financial challenge to implement changes to better protect Puget Sound. This is a model other companies who get penalties for spilling oil ought to consider.”

Trident will make its settlement payment within 30 days.

Jensen said Trident has embarked on a series of safety and spill-prevention reforms within its 42-vessel fleet, prompted by Ecology, the U.S. Coast Guard and the company’s own initiatives. The changes made include:

•Placing oil barrier boom around all vessels moored in Washington.

•Conducting weekly checks of vessel fuel and hydraulic systems and making annual reviews of company oil-transfer procedures.

•Putting permanent containment on as many fuel tank vents as possible.

•Minimizing the length of hydraulic hoses exposed to weather on the decks of its vessels.

“Trident regrets any spill, and we are committed to safety and spill-prevention reforms,” said company spokesperson Bob Nelson. “We are pleased that we were able to reach this innovative settlement agreement with Ecology which aims to prevent future spills.”