Now nearly 30 years later, although the visible signs of pollution may not be as evident as a burning river, a careful examination of the facts reveal a continuing water pollution crisis in this country. In order to uncover why we have failed to meet the goals of the Clean Water Act, this report analyzes the performance of federal and state governments with respect to enforcement of the Clean Water Act. It examines the government s listing of facilities that are in Significant Non-Compliance with their Clean Water Act permits, information that can only be obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. This information provides a look at facilities that are in serious and chronic violation of the law, and is explored in the larger context of enforcement accountability and efficacy in deterring pollution. The findings demonstrate the continued disregard by polluters for public health, the environment, and the law.
Polluters violate the terms of their Clean Water Act permits on a far too regular basis.
EPA has identified certain types of infractions as being significant, an arbitrarily high measure to anyone living downstream from a facility discharging any amount of dangerous chemicals. The top ten states with the highest percentage of major facilities in SNC were Utah, Tennessee, Ohio, Vermont, Missouri, Oklahoma, Alabama, Rhode Island, Nebraska, and Indiana. 159 major facilities were in Significant Non-Compliance during the entire 15 month period. Of the 42 industrial facilities in Significant Non-Compliance for the entire 15 month period, over the past five years only one has received a fine. 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 1,700 large facilities stems from several specific policy failures.