KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Jay Barrett/KMXT
The owners of The Wild Alaskan, the now-closed Kodiak exotic night club anchored offshore of Kodiak City, have been indicted on three counts of discharging their effluent into the channel, in violation of state law, and of lying to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The violation of the Refuse Act carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $25,000 per day fine for each day the act was violated. The false statement charge carries a penalty of up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
Darren Byler was arraigned yesterday (Feb. 23) in Anchorage Federal Court, while Kimberly Byler is not yet in custody, according to U.S. Attorney Karen Loeffler.
According to the indictment, the Bylers are accused of pumping the toilets straight into the water between Kodiak’s harbors, and telling Coast Guard investigators two different stories about how they are handling the waste. Kimberly Byler is alleged to have told them it was being stored in a 5,000 gallon tank on board the Wild Alaska then disposed of shore-side by a commercial company. Darren Byler is alleged to have told the Coast Guard it was being pumped out at Pier 2, or transported beyond the three-mile limit to be dumped into the ocean.
The Wild Alaskan has been the target of the city police and Coast Guard attention since almost the day it opened, with several raids and undercover investigations conducted since they opened in June 2014.
