How the government permits pollution

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http://www.pirg.org/reports/enviro/poison/

 

Poisoning Our Water

How the government permits pollution

 

U.S. PIRG Education Fund

 

 

 

Available Online

PIRG Home

 

Press Release

 

Table of Contents

 

Executive Summary

 

Full Size Map: Toxic Discharges to Water by County

 

Full Size Map: States with Major Facilities Seriously Violating the Clean Water

Act

 

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Appendix A:

Toxic Discharge Data Tables

 

Appendix B:

Permit Compliance Data Tables

 

Appendix C:

EPA Memorandum

 

Appendix D:

Discharge Summaries for Major Multi-State Bodies of Water

 

Appendix E:

State-Specific Discharge and Compliance Data. Note: This is a 1MB PDF file which

includes data for every state.

 

Addendum:

Alabama Information for Appendix E

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

Executive Summary .......... i

I. The State of Our Nation's Waters .......... 1

II. Documenting the Pollution of America's Waterways .......... 3

A. Reported Toxic Releases: The Toxics Release Inventory .......... 3

B. Illegal Discharges: Violations of Clean Water Act Permits .......... 6

III. Findings: Our Waterways Are Used as Dumping Grounds .......... 7

A. Reported Toxic Releases to Waterways in 1997 .......... 7

B. Polluters Violating the Law .......... 11

IV. Discussion: Why Our Laws Have Failed to Stop Water Pollution .......... 12

A. The Government Has Failed .......... 12

B. Polluters Are Allowed to Evade the Law .......... 13

C. The Public's Right to Know Has Not Been Fully Recognized .......... 17

V. Conclusions and Recommendations .......... 21

 

 

Appendices

Appendix A: Toxic Discharge Data

Appendix B: Permit Compliance Data

Appendix C: EPA Memorandum

Appendix D: Discharge Summaries for Major Multi-State Bodies of Water

Appendix E: State-Specific Discharge and Compliance Data

Executive Summary

 

When Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, there was a visible water

crisis that made a compelling case for action. The Cuyahoga River literally

caught on fire in 1969, and a spill off the coast of California had left

millions of gallons of oil along the coastline. The goals of the Act — clearly

stated — were to return all waterways to fishable and swimmable conditions by

1983 and to eliminate the discharge of all pollutants by 1985. Nearly 30 years

later, while the visible signs of pollution may not be as evident as a burning

river, a careful examination of the facts reveals a continuing water pollution

crisis in this country. Approximately 40% of our waters are still not safe for

swimming or fishing; there have been nearly 30,000 beach closings and advisories

since 1988; and in 1998, 47 states issued fish consumption advisories because of

high levels of dangerous chemicals.

 

In order to look at the nation's continued failure to move toward the goals of

the Clean Water Act, this report summarizes the hundreds of millions of pounds

of toxic chemicals discharged to our nation's waterways by analyzing data in the

Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). Our summary of pollution, water body by water

body, shows widespread toxic pollution of our rivers, lakes, and streams — large

industrial facilities and sewage treatment plants dumped almost 270 million

pounds of toxic chemicals into our waterways in 1997.

 

To explore the behavior of facilities discharging pollutants to our waterways,

this report also examines the government's listing of facilities that are in

" Significant Non-Compliance " with their Clean Water Act permits, information

obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Nearly 30% of major facilities

examined were in Significant Non-Compliance with their Clean Water Act permits

for at least one quarter from September, 1997 through December, 1998.

 

Among the report's other major findings:

 

The rivers receiving the largest amounts of toxic chemical releases were

the Mississippi River, the Connequenessing Creek (PA), the Brazos River (TX),

the Alafia River (FL), and the Houston Ship Channel (TX).

More than 8 million pounds of persistent toxic metals (like lead and

mercury) were released into our waterways, an increase of more than 50% from the

previous year and the largest amount since at least 1992.

Nearly 900,000 pounds of reproductive toxins (like toluene) were released

into our waterways, an increase of 60% from the previous year and the largest

amount released since at least 1992.

More than 2.5 million pounds of carcinogens (like vinyl chloride and

benzene) were released into our waterways.

The top ten states with the greatest number of major facilities in

Significant Non-Compliance were Texas, Florida, Ohio, New York, Alabama,

Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

The top ten states with the highest percentage of major facilities in

Significant Non-Compliance were Utah, Florida, Rhode Island, Ohio, Alabama,

Tennessee, Connecticut, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Indiana.

 

 

The continued dumping of hundreds of millions of pounds of toxic chemicals into

our waterways and the significant violation of the Clean Water Act by nearly

2,000 large facilities stems from several specific policy failures. At the most

basic level, the government, including both state agencies and the U.S. EPA,

have failed to properly deter polluters. Meanwhile, the courts have eroded

citizens’ ability to file suits in order to enforce the Clean Water Act. In

addition, regulators have failed to progressively lower permitted amounts of

pollution in order to move toward the zero-discharge goal of the Clean Water

Act.

 

Community right-to-know laws have been another missed opportunity in the

government's efforts to reduce and eliminate pollution. The Emergency Planning

and Community Right to Know Act which created the TRI led to significant

voluntary reductions in reported toxic releases in the early years that TRI data

was released. In recent years, however, toxic pollution has begun to increase.

Also, because TRI has focused on end-of-the-pipe releases, the generation of

toxic waste has consistently risen even in cases where direct releases have

decreased, meaning that government and industry are failing to prevent

pollution.

 

In order to make progress toward the basic goals of the Clean Water Act, U.S.

PIRG recommends the following:

 

Mandatory minimum penalties should be set that prevent polluters from

profiting by breaking the law. This approach has proved successful for New

Jersey, which passed a tough Clean Water Enforcement Act in 1990 which helped to

reduce the state's overall ranking in terms of percentage of major facilities in

Significant Non-Compliance to 41st (not including U.S. territories). In 1995

they were ranked 16th, and in 1997 they were ranked 36th by percentage of major

facilities in Significant Non-Compliance.

The obstacles citizens face in the courts should be removed. This means that

citizens should be able to sue for past violations and be able to sue federal

facilities.

Congress and the EPA should expand the current right-to-know program in order

to fully honor the public's right to know and to effectively use public

information as a tool for eliminating pollution. This means requiring all

polluting facilities to report all of their pollution, much of which is

currently exempted. Congress and EPA should also require reporting not just on

end-of-the-pipe pollution, but on toxic chemical use. This ‘materials

accounting’ reporting is required in Massachusetts and New Jersey, and both

states have seen dramatic reduction not just in direct releases, but in the

generation of toxic wastes and in the overall use of toxic chemicals.

 

 

 

 

 

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