# Presentation: 800202

## Crisis Communications:Something Smells Fishy

- Crisis Communications:Something Smells Fishy

## Olympic Region Clean Air Agency

- 	_**Issue Summary**__:_
**New business (occupies long-vacant property) **
**Economically-depressed community.**
**Business promises to increase local employment.**
**Community enthusiastically welcomes new business **
**Business violates terms of permit(s)**
**Highest level of complaints ORCAA has ever received (in 37-year history).**

## ORCAA Background

## Ocean Protein, LLCHoquiam, WA

## The Crisis:

- New Use of an Existing Facility
- Property adjacent to a residential neighborhood
- Time-sensitive production season (i.e. little incentive to slow production).

## Background

- Previous use: Vanillin processing
- (synthetic vanilla extract).
- New Business, built fast to take advantage of short fish season (May-August).
- Processes fish waste into marketable products
-  Oil from pressing
-  Soft tissue dried as fish meal
-  Bones dried as calcium source.

## The Problems

- Fast Construction / Bypassing Permit 	processes
-  ORCA had to approach the business to 	‘request’ they apply for permit
-  No waste-water permit was secured
- Owner/manager has history of living on margins with regards to permits and regulations.

## The Problems, continued

- Plant managers had no experience with new technology
- Little control of materials throughout   processes
- Some fish waste trucked  ~10 hours in open-bed trucks
- Trucks park and dump outside on un-enclosed slab
- Bagged fish meal sits on open slabs

## The Problems, continued

- Water control issues (separate issue handled by state Department of Ecology, EPA, and FBI – as well as Coast Guard and National Marine Fisheries!)
-  Inability to efficiently dispose of ‘stick water’ resulted in scrubbers becoming overloaded and actually ADDING odor to air going out stacks.

## Complaints

** ****Residents understood living in            semi-industrial area, but couldn’t tolerate this.**
** ****Adjoining businesses complained, too *****(one a specialty paper mill with odors of their own)*****	**

## Complaints

## Growing Unrest

## Possible Pitfalls

- ORCAA Issued Operating Permit, despite companies insistence on using the one site ORCAA recommended against.

- ORCAA had scant legal authority to shut down operations
*Could issue Notices of Violation and fines, but tough to enforce.*

## ORCAA’s Response, Public

- Multi-pronged approach to increasingly difficult problem:
- EVERY complaint received a response
- As frequently as possible, inspectors visited the plant:
- During business hours, early a.m., late evening, after dark, etc.
- When odors were confirmed, OP was given NOV (Notice of violation).
- Grace period observed during initial start-up

## ORCAA’s Response, Public

- Provided ample opportunities and forums for people to voice their concerns/complaints.
- Inspectors visit homes/businesses
- On-line complaint process
- Dedicated complaint line
- Use of additional staff to take sworn affidavits from complainants

## ORCAA’s Response, Media

- Frequent and open communication with reporters
- Addressed all reporter questions frankly and honestly.
- Respected Company’s confidential issues, while maintaining open communication with media. Media coverage included:
-  Local newspapers and radio
-  Seattle-area print, radio and TV
-  CNN, New York Times, and MSNBC

## Media Coverage

## ORCAA’s Response, Business

- More than 22 NOVs with a combined penalty of $750,000
- Fought for and received Temporary Restraining Order from Grays Harbor County Superior Court
- Restraining order, though, needed continued violations to be enforceable. Fish season ended before adequate evidence was gathered.

## Communication Tools

**Greatest tool in Crisis Control: **
**Excellent Field Staff!!**
- Direct, one-on-one communication with every complainant. Sometimes phone, but always within 24 hours.

## Communication Tools

- Though the entire compliance and engineering  departments worked on this issue, Mike Shults, ORCAA Air Quality Specialist I, and Gordon Lance, made it their personal missions to respond to all complaints and work on solutions with company consultants.

*Mike Shults**	**                   Gordon Lance*

## Basic Communication Strategy:

- Maintain open, frank communication with business
- Maintain open, frank communication with media (regardless of size/media market)
- Respond ASAP (within 24hrs) to ALL complaints, even if only to say, “We understand, but there’s nothing we can do at this time.”

## Basic Communication Strategy:

- Keep ALL agency staff updated on issue so anyone can speak knowledgably on topic.
- Provide forums for “hearing” public complaints – sometimes all people need is a shoulder to cry on/a person to vent to.
- Use all regulatory and, if necessary, judicial means to correct the problem.

## www.ORCAA.org