States turn a blind eye to Clean Water Act

Each of the United States was graded on its efforts to follow the Clean Water Act. None received A's.

By Environmental News Network staff

April 5, 2000
Web posted at: 5:06 p.m. EDT (2106 GMT)

By failing to address the nation's leading sources of water pollution — toxic runoff and contaminated rain — at least 21 of the United States are putting people and wildlife at risk, according to a report released today by the National Wildlife Federation.

The report states, in no uncertain terms, that these states ignored the Clean Water Act. It also documents how this negligence has made humans and marine animals sick, caused more harm to endangered wildlife, and polluted more than 300,000 miles of rivers and shoreline and 5 million acres of lakes.

"This summer, many Americans will be vacationing near rivers, lakes and streams where they can't eat the fish they catch, or they'll go to beaches where, on some days, they won't be allowed to swim," said Kari Dolan, NWF water resources manager and co-author of the report. "Many states are not providing the necessary resources and funds to monitor and restore these waters, and that just defies common sense."

The authors of the report, "Pollution Paralysis II: Code Red for Watersheds," reviewed each state's plan, mandated by the Clean Water Act, to stem water degradation caused by polluted runoff and contaminated rain. The law requires states to put limits on all sources of pollution entering "impaired waterways" (any degraded body of water) and take steps to ensure those limits aren't exceeded.

The NWF report summarizes and grades each state's plan. Twenty-one states or territories received a failing mark. Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon and West Virginia scored a B grade for doing the most to address water pollution. No state received an A for its effort to curb water pollution.

"The states' progress in implementing these critical controls on the leading sources of water pollution has been dismal," said Michael Murray, NWF staff scientist and co-author of the report. "Because of a combination of political intimidation by certain industries and bureaucratic inertia, most states are not adequately addressing polluted runoff and contaminated rain. And our lakes, streams and coasts are paying the price."

According to the report, the states have focused nearly all of their attention on pollution discharged from sewer systems and factories. Many continue to ignore the problems caused by non-point pollution sources.

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"The American public should be appalled that states are ignoring the law and putting people at risk, particularly when the tools exist to correct this problem," said NWF president Mark Van Putten. "Our rivers, lakes and streams are in critical condition, and many states refuse to pick up the phone and call 911."

Non-point pollution sources run the gamut from agricultural fields, suburban lawns and livestock operations to city streets, parking lots, smokestacks, car exhaust and logging. Their effects are several:

• Runoff from agriculture and livestock operations carries manure, fertilizer, pesticides and sediment into waterways and groundwater and is a major cause of algal blooms that endanger aquatic species.
• Fertilizer, pesticides and other chemicals applied to lawns leach into waterways, groundwater and wetlands.
• Oil, gasoline and antifreeze from automobiles seeps into storm drains, which usually empty into the nearest waterway.
• Power plants and incinerators release metals, chemicals, and nitrogen and sulfur compounds which pollute watersheds.
• Logging leads to increased sediment erosion and landslides. Sediment in waterways clogs fish gills and disrupts spawning beds and aquatic insect habitat. Removing trees along a stream significantly alters a waterway and decreases bank stability.

The report also notes that:

• One of five drinking water systems violates safety requirements;
• Each year, contaminated drinking water kills more than 900 people and makes another 900,000 sick in the United States;
• In 1998, states and counties reported more than 7,000 days that beaches were closed due to high levels of bacterial contamination;
• Since 1993, a "dead zone" of barren, oxygen-depleted coastal waters the size of New Jersey has spread from the mouth of the Mississippi throughout the Gulf of Mexico.

The report cites several cases in which a state has put the Clean Water Act to effective use in restoring lakes or streams.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed a set of regulations to speed up cleanup efforts by states.

"EPA's proposal is a good first step, but it still leaves too many loopholes for polluters," said Andy Buchsbaum, NWF's water quality projects manager. "For example, it allows polluters to dump more pollution into already contaminated streams. And it doesn't even cover some types of pollution."

"Polluters have mounted a public pressure campaign, even enlisting some members of Congress, to lobby EPA to weaken the law even more," said Buchsbaum. "For the sake of our lakes and streams and the wildlife and people who depend on them, the law needs to be strengthened, not watered down."

Copyright 1999, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved

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National Wildlife Federation
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fact sheet
EPA's Office of Water

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