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Majority of companies, waste treatment plants exceeding EPA
pollution permits, study finds
Friday, October 18, 2002
By John Heilprin, Associated Press
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 spokesman Joe Martyak said the report exaggerates the risks, for example, by
calculating facilities' performances monthly rather than every six months as the
EPA does. He said some violations are due to circumstances like storm water
runoff or equipment upgrades that are unintentional.
"Yes, there's still room for work to be done, but it is not a dire situation as
the PIRG report would have you believe," Martyak said.
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 one-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.
Copyright 2002, Associated Press
All Rights Reserved