Portland fined over fish kill in Salamonie River

PORTLAND, Ind. (AP) - The city of Portland in east-central Indiana has been fined for discharging pollutants into the Salamonie River in violation of its Clean Water Act permit.

The city has agreed to pay the Indiana Department of Environmental Management a fine of $8,250 and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources a fine of $2,504, The (Muncie) Star Press (http://tspne.ws/1UCfkAM ) reported. The penalties will be paid out of the city's sewer operating fund.

Last summer, untreated wastewater and raw sewage was discharged into the river, resulting in a fish kill.

Portland Mayor Randy Geesaman told the newspaper on Monday that "a bunch of minnows" died.

But an investigation by the state Department of Natural Resources counted 22 dead catfish, 22 dead crawfish, 186 dead suckers, 216 dead bluegill, bass, darters and crappies, and 9,553 dead minnows, chubs and carp.

Geesaman said he didn't know any fish other than minnows died.

"The final count of dead fish was very conservative, and I am sure there were more dead fish than we reported," conservation officer Rick Garringer said in an incident report dated Sept. 2. "It is my opinion that the pollution killed every fish until it reached the confluence of the Little Salamonie River. A healthy population of fish in this area would have resulted in more fish being killed."

Nearly two miles of the river was affected by the discharge from a combined sewer overflow outfall.

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Information from: The Star Press, http://www.thestarpress.com