NEWS RELEASE
August 30, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Dan A. Nelson, ORCAA Public Information Officer, Ext. 111
Olympic Region Clean Air Agency's Seeks Solutions to On-going Public Complaints Regarding Fish Meal Plant
HOQUIAM - Through its summer-long interaction with a new fish meal processing facility here, Olympic Region Clean Air Agency has shown that it supports business but not at the expense of public health and well-being.
Ocean Protein, LLC, received approval from Olympic Region Clean Air Agency to operate a fish meal processing facility at its Hoquiam location in May, 2005. Under terms of the permit issued by ORCAA, Ocean Protein was required to contain air emissions, including odors. Since Ocean Protein began operations at the facility, ORCAA has received more than 600 complaints from more residents - with complaints coming from more than 200 unique addresses - surrounding the plant.
ORCAA inspectors have investigated those complaints and have found cause to issue 21 Notices of Violation (NOVs) in that time. ORCAA also sought, and was granted by the Superior Court of Washington for Grays Harbor County, a Temporary Restraining Order against Ocean Protein, LLC. (see attached Press Release).
As of the end of August, complaints have been reduced in number but are still coming in at an rate of more than a dozen per week. ORCAA's penalty against Ocean Protein includes $521,000 in Economic Benefit Assessments and $11,000 in Gravity Assessments. The business has also received and more than $80,000 in fines for the NOVs.
Therefore, ORCAA's total penalty assessment as of August 30, 2005, for Ocean Protein stands at just over $612,000.
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The Olympic Region Clean Air Agency protects and enhances air quality for citizens in Thurston, Mason, Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, and Pacific counties by enforcing federal, state and local air quality regulations. If you have questions specific to the topic above, or just general questions about local air quality, contact ORCAA at (360) 586-1044 or 1-800-422-5623, or visit ORCAA's website, www.orcaa.org.