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Site Visit Report 

Alaska Seafood Processing Industry Petition Response 

Lindsay Guzzo 

Environmental Engineer 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Region 10 Permits Division 

guzzo.lindsay@epa.gov

206-553-0268 

 Betsy Bicknell 

 Senior Environmental Engineer 

 Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG) 

 betsy.bicknell@erg.com

 703-633-1612 

Plant Name Alaska Glacier Seafood 

Plant Address Juneau, Alaska 

NPDES Permit # AKG520528 

Date of Visit Sunday, August 15, 2010 

People Contacted Peter Hochstoeger K.D. Roop 

Mike Erickson (by phone) 

Seafood processed Chum salmon 

black cod (sablefish) 

halibut 

rockfish 

crab 

spot prawns 

sea cucumbers 

various ground fish 

Products Fresh and Frozen fillets (80% of production) 

Fresh and Frozen whole fish (H&G) 

Roe 

Range of annual production volume 2009 production was approximately 6.4 million 

pounds 

Months of operation March through November 

Discharge type Grind and haul for off shore disposal 

Company website www.alaskaglacierseafoods.com 

The Alaska Glacier Seafood (AGS) plant is located on Auke Bay, about 13 miles north of 

downtown Juneau. The plant is five years old and processes small volumes of a wide variety of 

seafood. Products are fresh and frozen. Fillets make up around 80% of production, the remainder 

is whole fish. Figure 1 shows the exterior of the plant. 

Waste Management. AGS hauls waste for off shore disposal. They accumulate waste in totes on 

the dock, run it through an Autio grinder, and pump it into a bow picker (small boat). Alaska 

Glacier owns the boat, motors, and pump, which cost about $48,000. 

Figures 3 - 4 show totes containing various fish waste, fish heads, and fish trimmings 

respectively. Figure 5 shows a tote dumper emptying waste into the Autio grinder. Figure 6 is a 

close up of the grinder. The boat transports the ground waste to beyond Portland Island where it is 

pumped out of the boat. Figure 7shows the pump and the bow picker filled with fish waste. The 

discharge pipe is held under the surface during the pump out. Pump outs take about an hour. The 

frequency of disposal runs varies with season. It may be as frequent as twice a day during salmon 
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season or once a week at slower times of the year. Figure 8 shows the entire waste processing 

area by the dock. 

Alaska Glacier estimates the labor costs for running the waste disposal boat per year to be about 

$17,536 gross pay with an estimated 40 gallons per week of gas to run the boat. The boat is run 

typically from March – November. 

Production. AGS uses movable tables and equipment that can be arranged in various set ups 

depending on the fish to be processed. Figure 9 shows the fish sorting area with the moveable 

equipment. They hand butcher halibut, Chum salmon, black cod (sablefish) and other groundfish. 

Rather than washing waste into floor drains, it is captured in catch basins and other containers 

and dumped into totes. Figure 10 shows a fish butchering process with the waste being placed in 

the tote in the foreground. 

AGS operates a crab cooker, chiller, blast freezer, rotary glazer, and a small roe room. Figure 11

shows an overview of the interior space of the plant and Figure 12 shows the preparation prior to 

freezing. The rotary glazer is shown in Figure 13. Fresh products are shipped via Alaska Air 

while frozen products are packed into refrigerated containers and shipped by barge. 

Sanitary Wastewater Management. The AGS plant is located outside the city sewer services. 

Plant sanitary wastewater is treated onsite. Wastewater flows through screens and a separator 

located under the pavement to remove solids. From the separator, the wastewater flows through a 

peat moss pods that act an attached growth biological treatment device (i.e., a biofilter). Outflow 

from the peat moss pods passes through a U.V. disinfection device and is discharged 10 feet 

below the surface, some distance from the dock. AGS paid $52,000 for the set of pods which are 

guaranteed to last for eight years. 

The wastewater discharge is monitored regularly by Admiralty Environmental. AGS reports the 

results to ADEC on discharge monitoring reports. Juneau Septic Services pumps out the solids 

that accumulate in the separator sump under the pavement. They also pump out any solids that 

have accumulated in storm drains and the fish drain. 
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Figure 1: Plant Exterior (source: http://www.alaskaglacierseafoods.com) 

Figure 2. Fish waste 
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Figure 3. Fish heads 

Figure 4. Fish trimmings 
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Figure 5. Tote dumper 

Figure 6. Ground fish waste 
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Figure 7. Waste in boat (with pump) 

Figure 8. Waste totes and boats 
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Figure 9. Fish sorting station 

Figure 10. Gutting fish 

Figure 11 Plant overview 
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Figure 12. Prep for freezer 

Figure 13. Rotary glazer