Pelican Seafoods foreclosure auction delayed

Kake Tribal Corp. canceled its Pelican Seafoods plant foreclosure auction Tuesday, fearing risk from a release of the plant's ammonia coolant, and possible liability.

"We felt it had better be reviewed by our attorney to see what potential liability we have before we take any further steps," said Steve Malin, CEO of Kake Tribal.

The village Native corporation from Kake sold the plant to Ed Bahrt & Associates LLC in 2006. Bahrt operated the plant for a time, but has since abandoned that effort. Fishermen who were not paid for fish they delivered to Bahrt have sued, and the city of Pelican has filed liens for unpaid bills as well.

Kake Tribal began foreclosure proceedings when Bahrt failed to make payments on his purchase of the plant, Malin said.

Complicating the issue for the plant, by far the city's largest business, is a failure of the city's water system during August's heavy rains. The collapse of a water flume left the city unable to operate its hydroelectric plant and forced it to rely on backup diesel generators instead.

The plant needs electricity to continue keeping the ammonia cold and prevent it from being released, said Sarah Moore, environmental program specialist with the Department of Environmental Conservation's Division of Spill Prevention and Response.

Ammonia boils at about 28 degrees below zero, and must be kept chilled or under pressure to prevent its release into the air, where it can be dangerous in high concentrations.

Moore said the agency is monitoring the situation in Pelican to ensure the ammonia is not released.

"The city of Pelican has a pre-existing plan in place in case there is a catastrophic release of ammonia," she said.

Kake Tribal still hopes to take over the plant and sell it to a new owner who would operate it, Malin said.

"We're its former owner and probably its future owner, but we don't own it now," he said.

Owner Bahrt has declined comment in the past and did not respond to an e-mail inquiry Tuesday but appears to have abandoned the plant.

The Pelican utility is operated by Kake Tribal as well, but Malin said the struggling Native corporation can't afford the $17,000 monthly cost of providing power for the plant for long.

Pelican utilities manager Paula Bergner said the utility was continuing to provide power, and its employees had responded to and repaired some small leaks already.

Without power, a loss of ammonia is possible, and may even be likely, Bergner and Moore said.

"A loss of power would not equal an instantaneous release, but the concern would be there," Moore said.

Pelican Seafoods also needs water to keep the ammonia cool, but a temporary bypass of the failed flume has provided a limited supply of water for municipal consumption and plant cooling, Malin said.

Despite the failure of Kake Tribal and then Bahrt to operate the plant, Malin said he hopes to be able to sell Pelican Seafoods to a company which would successfully operate it.

• Contact reporter Pat Forgey at523-2250 or by e-mail to patrick.forgey@juneauempire.com.