TRI reports filed with US EPA by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) show that the TVA’s Kingston coal-fired utility plant dumped an estimated 140,000 pounds of arsenic into the Emory River in 2008.  The arsenic was present in the coal ash dumped into the adjacent river when the impoundment collapsed.

Holy Toledo!  That whopping amount of arsenic is more than twice the reported amount of the toxic  releases into U.S. waterways from all U.S. power plants in 2007.  It is simply shameful for a federal agency to dump this amount of toxic  material into a waterway of the United States of America!!!

But that is not all folks! TVA also dumped nearly 320 tons of vanadium in the Emory River, or more than seven times the total discharge of this toxic pollutant from all power plants in 2007.

Indeed! TVA’s Kingston facility dumped more chromium, lead, manganese, and nickel into the Emory River last year than the entire U.S. power industry in 2007.  These numbers are simply unacceptable for a large federal agency.

U.S. EPA has issued guidance to help federal agencies minimize the impact of federal development projects on nearby water bodies. The guidance is being issued in response to a change in law and an Executive Order signed by President Obama, which calls upon all federal agencies to lead by example to address a wide range of environmental issues, including stormwater runoff.

EPA worked closely with other federal agencies to develop this document, which provides background information, key definitions, case studies and guidance on meeting the new requirements of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

Under the new requirements, federal agencies must minimize stormwater runoff from federal development projects to protect water resources.

Federal agencies can comply using a variety of stormwater management practices often referred to as “green infrastructure” or “low impact development” practices, including reducing impervious surfaces, using vegetative practices, using porous pavements and installing green roofs.

EPA is using sustainable techniques for reducing the effects of stormwater runoff at its facilities, such as installing a 3,000 square foot green roof as well as using rain gardens and cisterns to capture and reuse stormwater.

 For more information on the guidance: http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/lid/section438/

A federal grand jury in Greensboro, N.C., returned an indictment charging a poultry processor and a plant manager with multiple violations of the Clean Water Act for illegally discharging wastewater from its Raeford, N.C., based facility.  House of Raeford Farms Inc. and its plant manager, Gregory Steenblock, were both charged with 14 counts of violating the Clean Water Act. House of Raeford is a turkey slaughter and processing facility located in Raeford.

The indictment alleges that on 14 occasions between January 2005 and August 2006, House of Raeford and plant manager Steenblock allowed plant employees to bypass the facility’s pretreatment system and send its untreated wastewater directly to the Raeford Publicly Owned Treatment Works without notifying city officials. The untreated wastewater was contaminated with waste from processing operations, including blood and body parts from the slaughtered turkeys.

The bypasses and failure to report them were in violation of House of Raeford’s pretreatment permit as well as the city of Raeford’s sewer use ordinance. As alleged in the indictment, many of the bypasses took place while House of Raeford was subject to a consent order with the city that specifically required it to eliminate all bypasses from its facility.

House of Raeford is owned by House of Raeford Farms Inc., a privately held corporation operating seven poultry slaughter and processing facilities in North Carolina, South Carolina and Louisiana. The Raeford facility processes over 30,000 turkeys per day and its operations generate approximately one million gallons of wastewater per day.

If convicted, the company faces a maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the gain or loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greater, per count. Steenblock faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, per count.  The case is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and was investigated by U.S. EPA -Criminal Investigation Division and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

US EPA issued a final rule to help reduce water pollution from construction sites. The agency believes this rule, which takes effect in February 2010 and will be phased in over four years, will significantly improve the quality of water nationwide.

Construction activities like clearing, excavating and grading significantly disturb soil and sediment. If that soil is not managed properly it can easily be washed off of the construction site during storms and pollute nearby water bodies.

The final rule requires construction site owners and operators that disturb one or more acres to use best management practices to ensure that soil disturbed during construction activity does not pollute nearby water bodies.

In addition, owners and operators of sites that impact 10 or more acres of land at one time will be required to monitor discharges and ensure they comply with specific limits on discharges to minimize the impact on nearby water bodies. This is the first time that EPA has imposed national monitoring requirements and enforceable numeric limitations on construction site storm-water discharges.

 More information: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/guide/construction

Clean Wate Act consent degree will take City of Akron decades to complete.

In a federal court settlement, the city of Akron, Ohio, agreed to make extensive improvements to its sewer system to reduce or eliminate sewage overflows that have long polluted the Cuyahoga River and its tributaries  According to the consent decree lodged under the Clean Water Act in federal court, the city is required to develop and implement a comprehensive plan to reduce or eliminate (i) untreated overflows of sanitary sewage and storm water from its combined sewer system; and (ii) bypasses around secondary treatment at the wastewater treatment plant.

The city of Akron’s sewage and wastewater discharges flow into the Cuyahoga River, the Little Cuyahoga River, the Ohio Canal and their tributaries and contribute to impairment of water quality in those waterways.  The Cuyahoga River, an American Heritage River, flows through Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Cleveland metropolitan area, to Lake Erie. 

Yes, the same Cuyahoga River caught fire in the 1970s because it was so polluted with flammable wastes from the city of Cleveland’s industrial community. So, in 30 years the Cuyahoga River is now an American Heritage River.  Imagine how nice the Cuyahoga River will be, once the city of Akron stops dumping water pollution, including raw sanitary wastes in it!

As part of the settlement, the city will perform extensive analyses to identify appropriate methods of controlling or eliminating these discharges. After an opportunity for public participation, the federal and state governments will evaluate the results and require the city to implement appropriate improvements at various milestones, achieving full operation no later than Oct. 15, 2028.

Wow! It is simply amazing that the federal and state government conclude that twenty plus years is needed before the city of Akron finally fully complies with the Clean Water Act.  That is a pretty outrageous situation and a sad statement on the state of environmental compliance in America, as of November 2009.

In addition to the projects identified through the year-long analysis, over the next six years, the city will expand capacity at its wastewater treatment plant to allow for treatment of at least an additional 20 million gallons of wastewater per day.

Also, over the next eight years, the city will construct separate sewer lines for five combined sewer outfall points. Finally, the city will engage in comprehensive capacity, maintenance and emergency response programs to improve sewer system performance and to eliminate releases from the sewer collection system, including basement backups, releases into buildings, and onto property.

As part of the settlement, the city will pay a $500,000 civil penalty and provide $900,000 to fund the removal of the Brecksville (Route 82) Dam on the Cuyahoga River, as a state supplemental environmental project. EPA estimates that the dam removal will contribute to a significant improvement in water quality in the Lower Cuyahoga River. 

Why are the ratepayers of the city of Akron paying civil penalties to the U.S. Treasury?  What a waste of taxpayer money!  Instead of taking 20+ years to comply with the basic provisions of the Clean Water Act, take that $1.4 million dollars and speed up compliance measures. 

 The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, is subject to a 60-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. A copy of the consent decree and a summary of the agreement are available on the Justice Department Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decress.html.

A new EPA study shows concentrations of toxic chemicals in fish tissue from lakes and reservoirs in nearly all 50 U.S. states. For the first time, EPA is able to estimate the percentage of lakes and reservoirs nationwide that have fish containing potentially harmful levels of chemicals such as mercury and PCBs.

The data showed mercury concentrations in game fish exceeding EPA’s recommended levels at 49 percent of lakes and reservoirs nationwide, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in game fish at levels of potential concern at 17 percent of lakes and reservoirs. These findings are based on a comprehensive national study using more data on levels of contamination in fish tissue than any previous study.

Burning fossil fuels, primarily coal, accounts for nearly half of mercury air emissions caused by human activity in the U.S., and those emissions are a significant contributor to mercury in water bodies. From 1990 through 2005, emissions of mercury into the air decreased by 58 percent. EPA is committed to developing a new rule to substantially reduce mercury emissions from power plants, and the Obama Administration is actively supporting a new international agreement that will reduce mercury emissions worldwide.

The study also confirms the widespread occurrence of PCBs and dioxins in fish, illustrating the need for federal, state and local government to continue efforts to reduce the presence of these harmful chemicals in our lakes and reservoirs and ensure that fish advisory information is readily available.

It is important that women of child-bearing age and children continue to follow the advice of EPA and the Food and Drug Administration on fish consumption as it relates to mercury. This study is also a strong message to state and local governments to redouble their efforts in looking for opportunities to reduce mercury discharges, as well as developing fish advisories, especially to reach those in sensitive and vulnerable populations.

Results from the four-year National Study of Chemical Residues in Lake Fish Tissue show that mercury and PCBs are widely distributed in U.S. lakes and reservoirs. Mercury and PCBs were detected in all of the fish samples collected from the nationally representative sample of 500 lakes and reservoirs in the study. Because these findings apply to fish caught in lakes and reservoirs, it is particularly important for recreational and subsistence fishers to follow their state and local fish advisories.

EPA is conducting other statistically based national aquatic surveys that include assessment of fish contamination, such as the National Rivers and Streams Assessment and the National Coastal Assessment. Sampling for the National Rivers and Streams Assessment is underway, and results from this two-year study are expected to be available in 2011. Collection of fish samples for the National Coastal Assessment will begin in 2010.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fishstudy

US EPA plans to revise the existing standards for water discharges from coal-fired power plants to reduce pollution and better protect America’s water. Wastewater discharged from coal ash ponds, air pollution control equipment, and other equipment at power plants can contaminate drinking water sources, cause fish and other wildlife to die and create other detrimental environmental effects.

Earlier this year, EPA completed a multi-year study of power plant wastewater discharges and concluded that current regulations, which were issued in 1982, have not kept pace with changes that have occurred in the electric power industry over the last three decades.

 Air pollution controls installed to remove pollution from smokestacks have made great strides in cleaning the air people breathe, saving lives and reducing respiratory and other illnesses. However, some of the equipment used to clean air emissions does so by “scrubbing” the boiler exhaust with water, and when the water is not properly managed it sends the pollution to rivers and other waterbodies.

Treatment technologies are available to remove these pollutants before they are discharged to waterways, but these systems have been installed at only a fraction of the power plants.

As part of the multi-year study, EPA measured the pollutants present in the wastewater and reviewed treatment technologies, focusing mostly on coal-fired power plants. Many of the toxic pollutants discharged from these power plants come from coal ash ponds and the flue gas desulfurization systems used to scrub sulfur dioxide from air emissions.

Once the new rule for electric power plants is finalized, EPA and states would incorporate the new standards into wastewater discharge permits.  More information about EPA’s study is provided in an interim report published in August 2008.  

 A final study will be published later this year. More information on wastewater discharges from power plants: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/guide/steam/

John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods Inc., and John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods of the Carolinas Inc., based in Atlanta, Ga., have agreed to pay a $350,000 civil penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act, the Justice Department and U.S. EPA announced.

The companies have also agreed to implement company-wide storm water compliance programs at their construction sites that go beyond current regulatory requirements. EPA estimates that the agreement will keep a whopping 37 million pounds of sediment from polluting the nation’s waterways each year.  That is a lot of dirt clogging up the waterways.

The government complaint alleges a common pattern of violations that was discovered by reviewing documentation submitted by the companies and through federal site inspections. The alleged violations include not obtaining permits until after construction had begun or failing to obtain the required permits at all. At the sites that did have permits, violations included failure to prevent or minimize the discharge of pollutants, such as silt and debris, in storm water runoff.

The settlement requires the companies to develop improved pollution prevention plans for each site, increase site inspections and promptly correct any problems that are detected. The companies must properly train construction managers and contractors, and are required to have trained staff present at each construction site. They also must implement a management and internal reporting system to improve oversight of on-the-ground operations and submit annual reports to EPA.

This settlement is the latest in a series of enforcement actions to address storm water violations from construction sites around the country.  The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.

 The companies are required to pay the penalty within 30 days of the court’s approval of the settlement. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Justice Department Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.

Male smallmouth and largemouth bass with female characteristics have been discovered in surprisingly high numbers in eight of nine river basins throughout the United States. In some rivers, more than 70 percent of male bass were “feminized.” Scientists suspect the cause of this condition, which leads to immature female eggs in male fish and poorer reproduction, may be linked to substances that have hormonal effects.

Endocrine-active compounds like pharmaceuticals, pesticides and household items are possible causes, though some intersex fish were found at sites with no obvious sources of this type of contamination. Because this study didn’t examine the causes for this condition, more information is needed about the genetic and environmental factors that might be responsible, as well as the number and kinds of fish affected. Check out the USGS Newsroom for more information.

We are slowly poisoning our world, and no one seems to care.

Friends of the Earth graded 10 major cruise ship lines, including some of the biggest names in the business, such as Carnival Cruise Lines. Carnival received a “D-minus.”  The report issued the highest grade — a “B”— to Holland America Line. Norwegian Cruise Lines and Princess Cruises also scored relatively well, each getting a “B-minus.”

The lowest grades —”Fs” — went to Disney Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International. Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises also scored poorly.  Cunard Cruise Line and Regent Seven Seas Cruises received about average grades.

The enormous amounts of food and drink consumed on cruise ships, along with water from laundry, pool, medical facilities, photo labs, spas, and dry cleaning stations, has to go somewhere.

At sea, what you flush down the toilet can actually be dumped untreated into the ocean to contaminate fish and other marine life, so long as the ship is at least three nautical miles from shore. This sewage contains pollutants including fecal matter, bacteria, viruses, pathogens, nutrients, hazardous waste and pharmaceuticals, all of which can be harmful to human health and aquatic life. 

Say it ain’t so Mickey!  What is up with the cruise lines dumping their untreated wastes at sea.  This report is an eye opener for me, and the Little Mermaid.  Walt Disney is likely rolling over in his grave!