Clean Water News

As the new home of NJPIRG's environmental work, Environment New Jersey can be contacted regarding this news release.

TRENTON—More than 40.6 percent of industrial and municipal facilities across New Jersey discharged more pollution into our waterways than their Clean Water Act permits allow between July 2003 and December 2004, according to "Troubled Waters: An Analysis Of Clean Water Act Compliance", a new report released March 23 by New Jersey Public Interest Research Group (NJPIRG).

“Although we have come a long way, polluters are still violating their Clean Water Act permits in New Jersey. Instead of solving the problem, the Bush Administration is slashing the EPA’s budget and weakening critical clean water programs,” said NJPIRG Field Director Doug O’Malley

While the 1972 Clean Water Act has made significant strides in cleaning up U.S. waterways, the law’s goals of eliminating the discharge of pollutants into waterways by 1985 and making all U.S. waters safe for fishing, swimming and other uses by 1983 have not been reached. Today, more than 40 percent of U.S. waterways are unsafe for swimming and fishing. In New Jersey, more than 84 percent of rivers and 69 percent of lakes are impaired.

Using the Freedom of Information Act, NJPIRG obtained data on facilities’ compliance with the Clean Water Act between July 1, 2003 and December 31, 2004. NJPIRG researchers found that polluters repeatedly exceeded their permit limits, often by egregious amounts.

Additional findings include:

• Nationally, 62 percent of all major industrial and municipal facilities discharged more pollution into U.S. waterways than their permits allow at least once during the 18-month period studied. The average facility exceeded its pollution permit limit by more than 275 percent, or almost four times the legal limit.

• More than 40% of New Jersey’s industrial and municipal facilities exceeded their Clean Water Act permits at least once between July 1, 2003 and December 31, 2004. New Jersey ranks 44th in the country for percentage of facilities exceeding their pollution permits.

• On average, New Jersey facilities exceeding their Clean Water Act permits did so by 193.9%.

• Polluters in New Jersey reported 32 instances in which they exceeded their Clean Water Act permit by at least 500 percent over the legal limit.

• 11 facilities in Burlington County exceeded their Clean Water Act permit at least once during this period.

“All Americans deserve clean water to drink and safe places to swim and fish. To clean up our waterways, this continuing pollution must stop,” O’Malley said.

O’Malley noted that the findings are likely conservative, since the data that NJPIRG analyzed includes only “major” facilities and does not include pollution discharged into waters by the hundreds of thousands of minor facilities across the country.

NJPIRG called on the Bush Administration to back off its efforts to weaken the Clean Water Act and to commit to strengthening enforcement of this landmark legislation.

In addition, NJPIRG applauded Representatives Pallone and Holt and Senators Lautenberg and Menendez for sponsoring the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act, which ensures all U.S. waters are protected by the Clean Water Act, and called for the rest of New Jersey’s congressional delegation to support this important bill.

In order to achieve the goals of the Clean Water Act, NJPIRG recommended federal and state officials do the following:

• Increase EPA Funding to put more environmental cops on the beat to identify and punish polluters violating their Clean Water Act permits, and to fully fund the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to help communities upgrade their sewer systems.

• Protect all U.S. waters by withdrawing the Bush administration’s 2003 “No Protection” policy that eliminates Clean Water Act protections for many small streams and wetlands that feed and clean great waters, and supporting passage of the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act.

• Strengthen the Clean Water Act by preventing polluters from profiting from pollution, tightening permitted pollution limits, revoking the permits of repeat violators, and ensuring citizens full access to the courts.

“To protect public health and the environment, the Bush Administration and state officials must hold polluters accountable for their contamination of America’s waterways,” concluded NJPIRG’s Doug O’Malley.