|
Wastewater
plants pollute waterways, study says
Nando Times -
10/17
WASHINGTON
- Four of five wastewater treatment plants and chemical and
industrial facilities in the United States pollute waterways
beyond what their federal permits allow, according to government
data compiled by an environmental group.
More than 90
percent of the plants and facilities in Ohio, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island, Iowa, Puerto Rico, Maine, West Virginia, Delaware, New
York and Connecticut exceeded permit limits between 1999 and 2001,
said Thursday's report by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
The average
excess was 10 times what the permit called for, according to the
report in which U.S. PIRG analyzed Environmental Protection Agency
records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
"Polluters
are breaking the law, not only frequently but flagrantly,"
said the report's author, Alison Cassady, research director for
U.S. PIRG.
EPA officials had
no comment. There also was no immediate comment from the American
Chemistry Council, a trade group.
But a spokesman
for operators of publicly owned sewage treatment plants disputed
some of the report's conclusions.
"This notion
that you can simply enforce everything away is simply
untrue," said Adam Krantz of the Association of Metropolitan
Sewerage Agencies. "We are the guardians of the Clean Water
Act. We are not polluters."
Releases of the
worst toxic chemicals, those known or suspected to cause cancer
and other serious health effects, averaged eight times more than
is permitted under the Clean Water Act, the report said.
For those
chemicals, the states or territories with the highest percentage
of facilities in violation - each with more than a third out of
compliance - are Puerto Rico, Ohio, Rhode Island, the Virgin
Islands, the District of Columbia, New York, Arizona,
Massachusetts, West Virginia and Indiana.
The report,
released a day ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Clean Water
Act, found:
- 81 percent, or
5,116 of 6,332 major facilities, exceeded their permits at
least once between 1999 and 2001.
- 262 major
facilities exceeded their permits for at least 10 reporting
periods during that time.
NOTICE: In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C., section 107, some material is provided without
permission from the copyright owner, only for purposes of
criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair
use" provisions of federal copyright laws. These materials
may not be distributed further, except for "fair use,"
without permission of the copyright owner.
|