Ohio among nation’s top water polluters
The Canton Repository
COLUMBUS (AP) - Ohio ranked first in the nation in the number of times its major factories and cities released an unauthorized amount of harmful chemicals and untreated sewage into waterways, according to a report released by an environmental group Thursday.
Cities and industrial facilities across the 50 states frequently deposited more pollution into the nation’s waterways than the 1972 federal Clean Water Act allows, said the report from the nonprofit group Environment Ohio.
The group looked at 2005 water pollution data from cities and industries that were deemed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to release a significant amount of toxins into major waterways.
Ohio had a total of 1,797 instances in which industrial facilities and cities exceeded levels allowed by permits.
“If more people were aware that there are waterways polluted there would be more reason to hold these polluters accountable,” said Amy Gomberg, environmental advocate for Environment Ohio.
The group received the pollution information through a Freedom of Information request to the EPA.
Permit holders are in violation if the amount of pollutants exceeds the limits spelled out in their permits. A permit holder must ensure that there is enough oxygen in the water for fish to live and report to regulators whether they have exceeded the limits daily, weekly, monthly or every three months, depending on the requirements, Ohio EPA spokeswoman Linda Oros said.
Those limits remain the same no matter how much the water is swollen by rain, she said.
Besides chemicals associated with sewage and sewage treatment, common pollutants include copper, oil, cyanide and heavy metals, she said.
Ohio ranked fifth in the country in the percentage of major facilities and cities that exceeded permit levels at least once, with 217 out of 292, or 74.3 percent. Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire were ahead of Ohio in the category.
Violations of the Clean Water Act put chemicals and contaminants in the water that can cause cancer and neurological and reproductive illnesses, said Tim Buckley, an environmental health science professor at Ohio State University.
“Such costs should not be tolerated,” Buckley said.
The Ohio EPA said the state has assessed more than $22 million in penalties for water violations from 2001 through 2006. That includes both untreated sewage and harmful metallic chemicals such as mercury.
Many of the untreated sewage violations are a result of municipalities that had combined storm water and sewage drains, Oros said. When the piping used for the two systems is combined, major rains or floods create an overflow of storm water that pushes untreated sewage into surface water before it gets to a sewage treatment plant.
As of 2005, 50 out of 100 municipalities had separated systems. The municipalities that still have combined systems have put together a timeline for separating, but it takes “tremendous capital investment,” Oros said.
Most communities upgrade by digging up old sewer systems and installing larger pipe, which causes fewer backups. A system that controls backups by temporarily storing runoff and more efficiently removing debris than conventional sewers costs less, said Robert Andoh, director of innovation for Hydro International, which designs such systems.
However, federal funding for replacing systems has dwindled since the Clean Water Act was enacted and cities are scrambling to find the money to upgrade, Andoh said.
“It’s more due to political will than anything else,” Andoh said. “That source of funding has started to dry up, but the needs have not gone away.”
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Associated Press writer John McCarthy contributed to this report.
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On the Net:
http://www.environmentohio.org
Top violators of Clean Water Act
The 2005 state rankings for violations of the 1972 federal Clean Water Act, compiled by the nonprofit advocacy group Environment Ohio:
Exceed permit limits by major facilities
1. Ohio: 1,797
2. Pennsylvania: 1,516
3. New York: 1,478
4. Texas: 1,348
5. California: 1,330
Major facilities exceeding permit levels at least once
1. Maine: 71 out of 87, 81.6 percent
2. Massachusetts: 102 out of 130, 78.5 percent
3. Rhode Island: 19 out of 25, 76 percent
4. New Hampshire: 44 out of 58, 75.9 percent
5. Ohio: 217 out of 292, 74.3 percent
SOURCE: Environment Ohio
COLUMBUS (AP) - Ohio ranked first in the nation in the number of times its major factories and cities released an unauthorized amount of harmful chemicals and untreated sewage into waterways, according to a report released by an environmental group Thursday.
Cities and industrial facilities across the 50 states frequently deposited more pollution into the nation’s waterways than the 1972 federal Clean Water Act allows, said the report from the nonprofit group Environment Ohio.
The group looked at 2005 water pollution data from cities and industries that were deemed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to release a significant amount of toxins into major waterways.
Ohio had a total of 1,797 instances in which industrial facilities and cities exceeded levels allowed by permits.
“If more people were aware that there are waterways polluted there would be more reason to hold these polluters accountable,” said Amy Gomberg, environmental advocate for Environment Ohio.
The group received the pollution information through a Freedom of Information request to the EPA.
Permit holders are in violation if the amount of pollutants exceeds the limits spelled out in their permits. A permit holder must ensure that there is enough oxygen in the water for fish to live and report to regulators whether they have exceeded the limits daily, weekly, monthly or every three months, depending on the requirements, Ohio EPA spokeswoman Linda Oros said.
Those limits remain the same no matter how much the water is swollen by rain, she said.
Besides chemicals associated with sewage and sewage treatment, common pollutants include copper, oil, cyanide and heavy metals, she said.
Ohio ranked fifth in the country in the percentage of major facilities and cities that exceeded permit levels at least once, with 217 out of 292, or 74.3 percent. Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire were ahead of Ohio in the category.
Violations of the Clean Water Act put chemicals and contaminants in the water that can cause cancer and neurological and reproductive illnesses, said Tim Buckley, an environmental health science professor at Ohio State University.
“Such costs should not be tolerated,” Buckley said.
The Ohio EPA said the state has assessed more than $22 million in penalties for water violations from 2001 through 2006. That includes both untreated sewage and harmful metallic chemicals such as mercury.
Many of the untreated sewage violations are a result of municipalities that had combined storm water and sewage drains, Oros said. When the piping used for the two systems is combined, major rains or floods create an overflow of storm water that pushes untreated sewage into surface water before it gets to a sewage treatment plant.
As of 2005, 50 out of 100 municipalities had separated systems. The municipalities that still have combined systems have put together a timeline for separating, but it takes “tremendous capital investment,” Oros said.
Most communities upgrade by digging up old sewer systems and installing larger pipe, which causes fewer backups. A system that controls backups by temporarily storing runoff and more efficiently removing debris than conventional sewers costs less, said Robert Andoh, director of innovation for Hydro International, which designs such systems.
However, federal funding for replacing systems has dwindled since the Clean Water Act was enacted and cities are scrambling to find the money to upgrade, Andoh said.
“It’s more due to political will than anything else,” Andoh said. “That source of funding has started to dry up, but the needs have not gone away.”
———
Associated Press writer John McCarthy contributed to this report.
———
On the Net:
http://www.environmentohio.org
Top violators of Clean Water Act
The 2005 state rankings for violations of the 1972 federal Clean Water Act, compiled by the nonprofit advocacy group Environment Ohio:
Exceed permit limits by major facilities
1. Ohio: 1,797
2. Pennsylvania: 1,516
3. New York: 1,478
4. Texas: 1,348
5. California: 1,330
Major facilities exceeding permit levels at least once
1. Maine: 71 out of 87, 81.6 percent
2. Massachusetts: 102 out of 130, 78.5 percent
3. Rhode Island: 19 out of 25, 76 percent
4. New Hampshire: 44 out of 58, 75.9 percent
5. Ohio: 217 out of 292, 74.3 percent
SOURCE: Environment Ohio
