Clean Water News

As the new home of NCPIRG's environmental work, Environment North Carolina can be contacted with any questions regarding this news release.

Government Faulted In Lax Enforcement Of Clean Water Act

Nearly 1 in 3 of the nation's largest industrial, municipal, and federal facilities were in serious violation of their Clean Water Act permits at least once during a recent 15-month period. During this period North Carolina was one of the top 10 states with the greatest number of major facilities in significant non-compliance, according to a report released today by North Carolina's Public Interest Research Group (NCPIRG).

"Permit to Pollute: How the Government's Lax Enforcement of the Clean Water Act is Poisoning Our Waters" describes many shortcomings in the monitoring of water pollution and efforts to deter polluters, at the same time that the Bush administration has proposed cutting the EPA's budget for enforcement, which will result in fewer inspections, fewer staff, and more pollution.

"It is outrageous that, with nearly one in three polluting facilities breaking the law, the Bush Administration is proposing to slash enforcement budgets," said Peter Reaves of NCPIRG. "To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the Clean Water Act, we should start by requiring polluters to obey the law," continued Peter Reaves.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, NCPIRG's Washington, D.C., office obtained and analyzed the behavior of water polluters in North Carolina by reviewing violations of the Clean Water Act between January 2000 and March 2001, as recorded in the U.S. EPA's Permit Compliance System database.

Other key findings of the report include:

• 24 major North Carolina facilities were in violation of their Clean Water Act permits for discharging a significant amount over the legal limit, including Waste Water Treatment Plants near Greensboro and Charlotte.

• North Carolina ranks ninth in the nation for number of major facilities in violation of their clean water permits. The top ten states with the greatest number of major facilities in Significant Non-Compliance (SNC) were Texas, Ohio, New York, Indiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

• Six North Carolina facilities were in Significant Non-Compliance for all five quarters during the period, including Cone Mills textile manufacturing facility in Greensboro. Nationally, 134 major facilities were in Significant Non-Compliance during the entire 15 month period.

The most recent Toxic Release Inventory shows that facilities reported discharging more than 7 billion pounds of toxic chemicals into the environment in 2000, with more than 260 million pounds going into our waterways alone. "By looking at known sources of toxic pollution and known violators of our clean water laws, this report demonstrates common-sense steps that should be taken to address our water quality problems," added Peter Reaves.

To increase compliance with permits and move toward the zero-discharge goals of the Clean Water Act, NCPIRG recommends the following:

1) Tough penalties should be set. Penalties should prevent polluters from profiting by breaking the law and deter lawbreaking in the first place.

2) Citizens should have full access to the courts. Obstacles to citizen suits should be removed, including allowing citizens to sue Federal facilities.

3) Improve the public's right to know. The public should have greater access to information about enforcement, including requiring submissions of comprehensive data by facilities that discharge into waterways and making such data available online.

"We urge Congress and the President to listen to the public's demands for clean water, and ensure strict enforcement of the law," concluded Peter Reaves.