The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that PSF, Inc., formerly known as Peter Pan Seafoods, has paid a $750,000 penalty for violating state and federal Clean Water Act permit requirements. These regulations limit the amount of waste that seafood processors can discharge into the marine environment.

Violations by PSF and Peter Pan Seafood Company LLC took place at their seafood processing facilities located in Valdez and King Cove, Alaska. At the Valdez facility, the companies discharged seafood processing waste beyond the permitted one-acre "zone of deposit," resulting in a significantly larger accumulation on the seafloor. This facility is now owned by Silver Bay Seafoods.

In King Cove, violations included discharging seafood processing waste from a broken outfall and at incorrect depths.

Alaska remains the only state allowing zones of deposit at seafood processing facilities.

Silver Bay Seafoods has committed to implementing compliance measures at the Valdez facility. Meanwhile, Peter Pan's successor is required to conduct an audit to identify and correct any non-compliance issues at the King Cove facility. These compliance actions are expected to reduce environmental impacts from their operations.

Further details about these violations and settlement terms are available in the Consent Decree on EPA’s website.