Stinky fish fertilizer causing ‘putrid smell’ in Ballard

Updated: We recently wrote about an unusual smell near the Ballard Bridge. It turns out the smell is coming from a barge full of fish fertilizer.

Kimberly Cline with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency tells us that Alaska Protein Recovery, LLC has received a written warning after several people complained about the smell. “When we receive a complaint, an investigator needs to be able to sniff it out,” Cline tells us, “In this case, the investigator did detect a ‘putrid odor’.” The barge manager on site told the investigator that the barge contained fish fertilizer.

From the compliance department at the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency:

A Written Warning is often issued in situations, as in this case, where the potential to violate a regulation is imminent unless corrective action is taken and/or the documentation falls short of confirming a violation (face to face odor detection with affidavit). The standard corrective action on the Written Warning is for the source to respond in writing (within 5 days in this case) describing the action they have taken to correct the violation and achieve compliance. The Written Warning also stipulates that if the source does not take the prescribed corrective action, the Agency may issue a Notice of Violation that may result in a civil penalty.

The barge in question is located at Ocean Beauty Seafoods on the ship canal, but they want to stress that this is not their barge. Tony Ross with Ocean Beauty says that Alaska Protein Recovery has been tenants there for four or five years and they’ve never had a problem.

Travis Simpson with Alaska Protein Recovery says they closed up the barge when they got back from Alaska and all went on vacation. When they returned and opened the barge, the smell was released. “We’re really, really sorry,” Simpson says. “We have guys working 24 hours a day trying to fix it.” Simpson says the smell should be gone by the end of the week. (Thanks Jeff for the tip!)