ASTORIA, Ore. — Da Yang Seafood is pilot testing a new wastewater treatment system at its fish and shrimp processing plant here to comply with more stringent regulations handed down by the state Department of Environmental Quality.

Alan Ismond, a longtime industry consultant, developed and patented the technology after he was hired by Da Yang in 2015 to help the facility secure a new wastewater permit.

At the time, Oregon DEQ was updating its general permit for seafood processors — known as a 900-J permit — requiring companies to clean wastewater before it is discharged into rivers or the ocean.

The updated 900-J permit was issued in 2020, and has been sharply criticized by the industry for being overly restrictive. DEQ contends the conditions are needed to protect aquatic species and human health.

“The industry is kind of desperate,” Ismond said. “Right now, to meet the limits based on antiquated technology, nobody can do that and be able to stay in business.”

Treating wastewater

Ismond and his wife, Abby, are co-founders of Aqua-Terra Consultants based in Bellevue, Wash.

The couple began working on a new way to treat processed wastewater from seafood plants in 2019 as DEQ sought to strengthen its requirements for total concentrations of fish solids, oil, grease, ammonia, chlorine and bacteria under the 900-J permit.

For decades, the primary method for treating wastewater has been screening out solids.

Dissolved air flotation is another technology that can help processors clean water closer to DEQ standards, Ismond said.

The system involves adding a coagulant and a synthetic polymer into wastewater, causing suspended solids to clump together. Dissolved air is then injected into the solution, with tiny bubbles adhering to the solids and floating them to the surface for removal.

However, Ismond said the polymer that works best for dissolved air flotation — called polyacrylamide — is toxic, meaning the recovered waste can’t be recycled to make value-added products like pet food. Instead, it must be hauled away to landfills.

Ismond’s system, on the other hand, combines dissolved air flotation with a different separation process called foam fractionation, commonly used in aquaculture and in mining.

Foam fractionation offers multiple benefits, Ismond said. It costs less, takes up less space, involves fewer moving parts and does not require polyacrylamides. He envisions sludge coming from his unit may be used as a soil nutrient for farms and forests.

Problematic permits

Ismond plans to test a small-scale version of the system at Da Yang later this summer.

“I’m hoping we might be able to meet the new permit limits, but there’s no guarantees,” Ismond said.

Testing comes as DEQ released a final draft wastewater permit for the plant on July 28, which will go out for public review.

Rather than a general permit, Da Yang is one of nine seafood processors that have applied for an individual permit from DEQ tailored to each facility’s specific operations. Ismond reviewed a copy of the draft permit in February, responding with 130 pages of feedback.

Among the problems, Ismond said, was the agency adding limits for copper, mercury, zinc and other metals that were never previously included in the permit.

These metals are not used in seafood processing, but come from the environment or tap water. In essence, Ismond said companies are being asked to clean up someone else’s mess.

“We’ve become the downstream victims,” he said.

Ismond said more research is needed to determine if his system can treat metals to the level required in DEQ’s permit.

Setting the template

Da Yang would be the first processor to receive a new individual permit from DEQ.

“The entire industry is focused on us now,” Ismond said. “The (permit) that we get will be the template for all the other companies.”

Lori Steele, executive director of the Portland-based West Coast Seafood Processors Association, said the group is paying close attention to Da Yang’s permit and will continue to lobby coastal legislators and DEQ for more realistic permit conditions.

Earlier this year, Steele testified before the Oregon House Committee on Climate, Energy and Environment. She said many seafood processors face threat of closure due to “infeasible and unworkable” permit conditions.

“We’re still trying to find a path forward with DEQ,” Steele told the Capital Press. “We just haven’t been able to really get traction to effect any major changes.”

Ismond said he believes regulators do not adequately understand how seafood processors work in order to justify the permits. He outlined his criteria using the acronym S.A.F.E. — which stands for scientifically based; available technology; financially feasible; and environmentally protective.

“We’re doing everything we can to be on the cutting edge,” Ismond said. “We’re not asking for leniency. We’re asking for science. That is our message in a nutshell.”