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Agreement Reached With New Hampshire Lobster and Bait Fish Facility to Settle Water and Chemical Notice Violations

Release Date: 06/27/2006
Contact Information: Sheryl Rosner, (617) 918-1865

(Boston, Mass. - June 27, 2006) - EPA New England has reached settlement with a New Hampshire facility which has agreed to pay an $86,000 penalty for Clean Water Act (CWA) and Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) violations.

Little Bay Seafood, LLC and Lordco Pier Associates, Inc. (Little Bay) own and operate a lobster pound and bait fish operation at their facility in Newington, New Hampshire, on the Piscataqua River. Over the past five years, Little Bay has violated the terms and conditions of its Clean Water Act NPDES wastewater discharge permits. The facility regularly discharges wastewater containing pollutants from four outfalls to the Piscataqua River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

“While recognizing that there were significant past Clean Water Act and right-to-know violations in this case, the company responded quickly and committed itself to compliance to address EPA’s concerns,” noted Robert W. Varney, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “We appreciate that Little Bay turned its attention to environmental concerns and is voluntarily undertaking a comprehensive environmental management and planning effort.”

The settlement also resolves violations stemming from past lobster trap dipping operations that were cause for environmental concern. Until recently, Little Bay dipped its wooden lobster traps into a mixture of tributyltin (TBT) and mineral spirits to preserve and protect the traps from marine organisms. TBT is a chemical that is extremely toxic to aquatic life. This process resulted in TBT dripping onto the ground and mixing with stormwater that would run into the Piscataqua River.

Starting approximately five years ago, Little Bay started phasing out the use of its 15,000 wooden lobster traps, converting entirely to metal traps which do not require TBT treatment. The facility notified EPA that it completely removed the TBT trap dipping operation in January 2006.

In addition, EPA determined that Little Bay had violated EPCRA by having failed to file the required emergency and hazardous chemical inventory forms under EPCRA with the local and state emergency planning authorities from 2002 through 2004. Little Bay was required to file chemical inventory forms based on the use of anhydrous ammonia, an EPA extremely hazardous substance. Little Bay has since filed the required forms under EPCRA.

More information on EPA New England enforcement of the Clean Water Act (epa.gov/ne/enforcement/water/index.html)

More information on EPA New England enforcement of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (epa.gov/ne/enforcement/epcra/index.html)

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