StarKist to pay US$6.3M penalty for wastewater spill in American Samoa
by The Associated Press
Pittsburgh-based StarKist is American Samoa's largest private employer. The company says it remains committed to South Pacific territory
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa—Officials say the world’s largest supplier of canned tuna has agreed to pay a $6.3 million penalty for wastewater violations in American Samoa, where StarKist Co. is a major employer.
The company will also take steps to reduce environmental harm to the territory, after a 2014 pipeline break spilled unpermitted wastewater into the inner Pago Pago Harbor.
Pittsburgh-based StarKist is American Samoa’s largest private employer. The company says it is committed to American Samoa and its people by doing the right thing.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency announced the agreement Tuesday.
Federal officials say StarKist and subsidiary StarKist Samoa Co. are required to make various upgrades to reduce pollution, improve safety measures and comply with federal environmental laws at the their American Samoa tuna processing plant.
