Washington State shellfish producer, Pacific Seafood, is pushing back on claims made by an environmental group that has filed a lawsuit against its hatchery.

The Center for Food Safety (CFS) filed lawsuit Aug. 3 targeting Pacific Seafood’s shellfish hatchery for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act. In the court documents, CFS alleges that the shellfish hatchery located in Quilcene Bay, Washington State is discharging wastewater and heat that exceeds its permitting limits. The group has expressed its intent to take legal action against the hatchery since last May.

A spokesperson for Pacific Seafood told Hatchery International that allegations outlined in the lawsuit have no merit. They said that the company is working closely with the proper agencies and authorities to operate in full compliance.

“We are proud to be the first shellfish hatchery in the United States to receive an NPDES permit. Because this was a first-of-its-kind permitting process, more data is needed to establish the ambient temperature conditions of Quilcene Bay, so we have been working closely with the Washington Department of Ecology to collect more ambient data to support a long-term temperature study that will inform future temperature limits. We recently entered into an Agreed Order with the Department, which gives our operation time, resources, and assistance to come into compliance. We remain committed to meeting all regulatory requirements and maintaining a strong partnership with Ecology,” the spokesperson wrote.

CFS named two companies in the filing: Dulich, Inc. and Pacific Shellfish-Quilcene, LLC. The group said in a press release that it hopes to hold the companies accountable for what they claim as “demonstrating flagrant disregard and non-compliance with Clean Water Act requirements.”

CFS is representing itself and is also represented by Kampmeier & Knutsen, PLLC.

“As we have said before: this is another example of a broken system that allows the same cast of lawyers and organizations to come after the seafood industry in the hope of generating headlines and making money, instead of trying to solve actual environmental problems,” said the spokesperson.

“If these lawyers and their clients were actually interested in understanding our industry and protecting the environment, they would have discussed the merits of the Agreed Order with us and with the Department of Ecology before filing an uninformed lawsuit and running to the media. They did not. We will fight them in court.”

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Pacific Seafood hatchery pushes back on environmental group lawsuit