StarKist Samoa Inc. was served a Nullification Notice from the American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency (AS-EPA) on Tuesday, July 8, 2014, to quash a Stop Order Notice that was served on the cannery five days earlier on Thursday, July 3, 2014. 

The Stop Order Notice directed StarKist Samoa, Inc. to immediately cease and desist from operating the StarKist cannery due to a ruptured wastewater pipe that caused an underwater discharge into Pago Harbor.

According to a statement from the AS-EPA, the Nullification Notice was issued after the AS-EPA verified and confirmed that the ruptured pipe had been repaired.

AS-EPA Director Ameko Pato said StarKist management “was very responsive as soon as they were alerted of the discharge in the Pago harbor.” He continued, “I would like thank Mr. Kwon for his swift action in not only adhering to the Stop Order Notice but also his immediate response in remedying the problem.”

While the cause of the ruptured pipe is unknown, the AS-EPA expressed its concern during a meeting with StarKist’s management on the importance of revisiting their operation and maintenance schedule, to ensure the structural integrity of the pipe. 

The AS-EPA said StarKist’s management shared their concerns with the status of the pipe and said it would implement an aggressive schedule of routine maintenance and inspection of the underwater pipe. 

(The underwater pipe — an outfall pipe — discharges wastewater from the production- processing plant to the waters off Onesosopo Park, instead of directly into the inner harbor, which was the case, up until the pipe was installed in early 1992. Both StarKist Samoa and COS Samoa Packing used the pipe. It’s unknown if the Samoa Tuna Processors’ plant will also be using the pipe.)

Another concern that was discussed with StarKist management, according to the AS-EPA, was the importance of adhering to the terms and conditions outlined in their National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued and authorized by USEPA.

In response, “StarKist promised to promptly notify the AS-EPA and USEPA of any future issues with the pipe,” said the AS-EPA media release. “Director Pato expressed that the AS-EPA has historically enjoyed a positive working relationship with StarKist and stressed the importance of sustaining this relationship into the future for the environmental and economic health and growth of the Territory.”

Mr. Kwon echoed Pato’s sentiments and vowed that this will never happen again. Meanwhile, “StarKist is currently working to identify the integrity of its wastewater pipe and will keep the AS-EPA informed of any new developments with regard to this matter.”

In an effort to show its commitment to the environment and the community, StarKist Samoa, Inc. has agreed with the AS-EPA’s recommendation to pursue a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) to make amends for the environmental damage and water quality degradation in the harbor.

StarKist Samoa Inc is expected to select an environmental mitigation project from a list of potential projects that was provided to the AS-EPA, or propose an environmental mitigation project by no later than Wednesday, July 16, 2014.

Pato concluded, “I would like to sincerely thank the federal, local departments, and the private sector that took swift action upon discovery of the underwater discharge. I would like to assure the public that measures are in place to begin restoration of the water quality in the harbor to its previous state.”

Right now, there is no set date when production at StarKist Samoa will resume. Samoa News spoke to a cannery official yesterday who said scheduling is “an ongoing thing” and as of yesterday, only maintenance workers, engineers, and security guards were working and no production was carried out.

The Stop Order Notice issued by the AS-EPA last Thursday came hours before the long July 4 weekend and there has been no production since. (Samoa News notes that usually such days are scheduled by the company to do plant maintenance and we were unable to confirm if the days off were related to the stop order issued by the AS-EPA).

A notice from StarKist Samoa earlier in the week called for all team members to resume production this past Wednesday but that too was changed.

The StarKist official who spoke to Samoa News yesterday, said they are playing it by ear, waiting for reports from the maintenance crew before any scheduling becomes official.

BACKGROUND

Since June 18, the water at the Pago Harbor near the tuna cannery has been visibly discolored, prompting the AS-EPA in conjunction with the Dept. of Marine and Wildlife Resources to collect samples, which last showed the water turbidity in that area was 13 times greater than the legal allowable limit.

AS-EPA inspection officers reported seeing the water discolored, murky, and bubbling near the pier of Samoa Tri Marine Processing in addition to a strong odor emanating from the water.

DMWR officers had also reported dead marine animals and habitat deterioration in the harbor.