Astoria, Oregon (Associated Press)-South Korea-based Da Yang Seafood was fined $105,000 by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for improperly discharging wastewater into the Columbia River.
The state stated that between June 2018 and June 2021, there were 32 violations at the seafood processor facility located at Pier 2 of the Port of Astoria. According to The Astorian’s report last week, when the wastewater was dumped, the state stated that Dayang did not comply with the wastewater permit restrictions.
“The pollutant discharge limit in the permit is set to the level necessary to protect human health and the environment,” Kieran O’Donnell, manager of the Office of Compliance and Enforcement of the Ministry of Environmental Quality, said in a letter to Dayang. “By exceeding these levels, the ocean creates a risk that its outflowing water will harm water quality and aquatic life.”
According to Lauren Wirtis, a spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Quality, these violations were determined based on Dayang’s self-report.
Wirtis said that the maximum excess of total suspended solids (a measure of floating particles) exceeded the limit of 1,000%.
In 2015, the company was fined more than $85,000 for improperly discharging wastewater into Youngs Bay within seven years. In 2017, seafood processors were also fined US$54,600 for discharging wastewater into the Columbia River.
The newspaper stated that a representative of Dayang could not be immediately reached for comment.
