On February 9, 2018, DOJ lodged a consent decree with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, that resolves Clean Water Act violations by Trident Seafoods at its Sand Point and Wrangell processing facilities in Alaska. Seafood waste piles - comprised of bones, shells, and other organic materials that accumulate on the seafloor in the vicinity of the outfall - exceeded the one-acre zone of deposit limit in each facility's NPDES permit; the Sand Point facility's waste pile continues to exceed the one-acre limit by several acres. Other permit violations include failure to comply with permit requirements for waste conveyance, grind size, best management practices, and monitoring. As part of this settlement, Trident has agreed to remove the 3.47-acre waste pile at Sand Point, and has already altered operations at Wrangell to virtually eliminate solids discharges in the nearshore environment. Trident will also implement a state-of-the art screening system at Sand Point to reduce production of surface foam, conduct a third-party audit of its environmental monitoring system, and pay a penalty of $297,000. This settlement ensures compliance with NPDES permit requirements and water quality standards designed to protect the seafloor, the benthic community, and surrounding water quality.