The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has issued a $13,370 penalty to Charles Vincent Case, of the Curry County community of Harbor, for polluting state waters when he dumped approximately 2,500 pounds of rotted, skinned mink carcasses into the Port of Brookings Harbor marina earlier this year. The carcasses caused an oily sheen on the harbor’s surface and significant odors. Case, a commercial crab fisherman, reportedly dumped the carcasses into the harbor, at 16408 Lower Harbor Road, on the evening of April 1, 2014. Mink carcasses are sometimes used by crab fishermen as bait. DEQ issued the penalty because of the pollution’s impact to the harbor, which is part of the Chetco River Estuary. The estuary provides important habitat for a variety of fish including coho almon and green sturgeon. Both these species are listed as threatened under the federal ndangered Species Act. Organic material such as carcasses can reduce the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water, harming aquatic species’ ability to breed and migrate. The Port of Brookings cleaned out the carcasses and used absorbent booms and rags to remove the sheen in the water. The carcasses were hauled by truck to a California rendering facility. The port has billed Case $10,000 for the cleanup, but the bill is still outstanding, according to the port. Case has until Nov. 12 to appeal the DEQ penalty.
