PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Federal prosecutors in Oregon had a little Earth Day message for a Louisiana shipping company -- pay $240,000 for illegally dumping fertilizer in the ocean to avoid landfill fees.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Portland announced Tuesday it has charged Kinder Morgan Bulk Terminals Inc. with violation of the federal Ocean Dumping Act.

As part of a settlement, the company is expected to pay the nearly quarter million-dollar fine -- with a third going to Oregon environmental projects managed by the National Fish and Wildlife Fund.

Federal prosecutors say they learned about the illegal dumping when inspectors for a Kinder Morgan customer discovered a bulk cargo vessel taking on an unscheduled load of potash -- a fertilizer known as "light salt."