Something smells fishy in the town of Hoquiam

HOQUIAM, Wash. – Fans and players descended on this coastal town for the Senior Babe Ruth state baseball tournament this week.

They had more to deal with than just the competition on the field.

There was also the pungent smell coming from the Ocean Protein Fish Meal plant. Smells that got so bad, the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency issued a “notice of violation” against the plant Friday.

“They have had different types of explanations for the smells,” said Richard Stedman, the executive director of the agency. “They tell us the smells are coming from trucks sitting out back, one of the fish meal doors being left open and things like that.

“But this odor has been so pervasive and it has a bit of the cooking smell, not just raw smell, that we believe something is escaping and not being treated well enough.”

The plant, which employs about 65 people during the fishing season and 15 people in the offseason, grinds fish guts into a fine powder that is used in chicken feed and other products. Ocean Protein attorney Art Blauvelt told the (Aberdeen) Daily World he was not sure what was causing the odor.

The plant opened in 2005 and instantly became the target of complaints from residents about the odor. Each of the last two summers, the plant has ended up in court with residents pushing for its closure.

Last summer, Grays Harbor County Superior Court Judge Mark McCauley issued an injunction against the plant, stating that another notice of violation would give the air agency the right to close the plant.

In the past, the air agency would issue violation notices to the plant but give it time to try and fix the odor problem.

This time, if there is another notice of violation, “we will enforce our court-ordered injunction and shut the plant down,” Stedman said.

Stedman said the odor from the plant had improved compared to the past. Ocean Protein officials told the Daily World it invested more than $4 million in odor control equipment, training and installation.

Stedman said neighbors of the plant should understand that there will always be some type of smell, and it’s part of having an industrial area next to a residential neighborhood.

“But the neighbors have a right to enjoy their summer, too,” Stedman said.

“If we could wave a magic wand and make the fish meal plant or the neighbors disappear to another part of Hoquiam, we would.”