What is in Your Tap Water and What is Being Done About it? The Answers May Shock You!
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While our firm doesn't handle environmental cases, I felt the need to publish a blog about a recent New York Times story by Charles Duhigg regarding over half a million recent violations of the Clean Water Act, many which have gone unpunished. The Times did a thorough study and found that in the last five years alone, the nation's water pollution laws have been violated over 500,000 times, often with no fines or punishments levied against the offenders.
So, what is the Clean Water Act? It is a federal law enacted in 1972 to ensure safe drinking water in our country. Another purpose of the Act was to provide means to punish polluters. Without enforcement, however, the Act is all bark but no bite. How serious is the problem?
As an example of the consequences of water pollution, tests ran on tap water in a West Virginia town located only 17 miles ouside the state's capital indicated the town's water contained arsenic, barium, lead, manganese and other dangerous chemicals. According to federal regulators, at certain concentration levels, these chemicals can contribute to damage in humans' kidneys, central nervous system and can even contribute to cancer. The problem is not, by any means, limited to West Virginia, however. So, what can be done?
Each state has the right to enforce fines against companies that violate the Clean Water Act. Many states cite lack of resources as the reason for failing to punish offenders. However, as it is a federal law, the federal government also has the authority to punish offenders, as well. Either way, someone needs to step up to the plate. In my opinion, Congress should revisit the Act and stiffen the fines for violations. This would not only help deter violations, but would also make it worth the cost to prosecute the offenders. I welcome any suggestions from anyone with an interest in this issue or from anyone with knowledge about the situation.
The new EPA administrator, Lisa P. Jackson, recently acknowledged that the water supply fails to meet public health goals today and that enforcement of the violations is unacceptably low. She has vowed that strengthening water protections is one of her top priorities. I personally wish Lisa Jackson the best as this is clearly a serious, national problem
The New York Times, via Freedom of Information Act requests to every state and the EPA, has compiled an impressive national database of the violations. There is also an interactive version, broken down by local communities. To learn about your local water supply, the database can be found at:
www.nytimes.com/toxicwaters.