Two brothers from Naubinway pleaded guilty last week to violating the Clean Water Act by dumping fish offal, the undesirable parts of processed fish, including the guts, into Lake Michigan.

Both Carl Frazier, 69, and a Mackinac County commissioner, and his brother, Donald Frazier, 70, pleaded guilty Tuesday, July 28, in federal court to negligent discharge of pollutants without a permit, a misdemeanor. The two are owners and officers of Carl and Don Frazier, Incorporated, a corporation that also pleaded guilty to the knowing discharge of a pollutant without a permit, a felony.

The offenses are violations of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, referred to commonly as the Clean Water Act.

The brothers' company, launched in 1986, processes whitefish and other fish caught by local fishermen. The unused guts and other fish parts, the offal, was stored in their facility in 50-gallon barrels, each of which held 400 to 500 pounds of fish offal. This fish offal qualifies as a pollutant under the Clean Water Act.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, employees of the corporation, and Carl and Donald Frazier themselves, admitted to dumping these barrels into the waters and shoreline of Epoufette Bay, east of Naubinway, since the late 1990s. The corporation had no permit under the Clean Water Act to allow this dumping.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said investigations into this activity by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation began in 2006.

Each man will face a fine for the misdemeanor charges that could range from a minimum of $2,500 to a maximum of $100,000. Additionally, both Carl and Don Frazier could be sentenced to up to a year in prison for the offense.

Their corporation faces a fine for the felony charge ranging from a minimum of $5,000 to a maximum of $500,000. As part of the plea agreement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maarten Vermaat said the brothers agreed to be personally liable for any fines imposed on the corporation, which means, together, the two could face fines up to a maximum of $700,000.

Sentencing is scheduled for 1 p.m. December 17, at the United States District Court, Western District, in Marquette, Mr. Vermaat said.

Other area fish processing companies give fish offal to a Wisconsin company, Jill Bentgen of Mackinac Straits Fish Company said. The company picks up the waste during the peak season of spring through autumn, and does not charge for the service. In the off-season, Waste Management's landfill in Dafter accepts the waste for a per-ton fee.

The St. Ignace News was unable to reach either Carl or Don Frazier for comment, although their brother, Allen Frazier, was contacted at the fish processing business, and said they wished to make no comment about the case.