As the new home of WashPIRG's environmental work, Environment Washington can be contacted regarding this news release.
SEATTLE–
A report released today by the Washington Public Interest Research
Group (WashPIRG) found that many companies that violated water quality
regulations in Washington in 2003 received no fines or notification
that they had broken the law. The report, “Take Back Washington’s Waters: The Failure of the Clean Water Act in Washington and What We Can Do About It”,
also found that one-fifth of the permitted facilities in Washington are
operating under outdated, expired water pollution permits.
“Washington
has many strong regulations to protect our waterways, but
unfortunately, the state isn’t enforcing them,” said Robert Pregulman,
WashPIRG Executive Director. “Until polluters are held accountable for
violating water quality regulations, Washington will have waterways
that are too polluted for fishing or swimming.”
The
Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) is the state agency charged
with enforcing water quality regulations, but due to lack of adequate
funding and political pressure from polluting industries, the agency is
often overworked and without the necessary funds to adequately protect
Washington’s waterways in three key areas:
• Standards and permitting: Almost 20% of permitted facilities in
Washington are operating under outdated, expired water pollution
permits.
• Inspections: Only 30% of Washington’s permitted facilities have been
inspected by state regulators in the last two years. As a result,
regulators have relied largely on industries to report violations.
• Enforcement: Of the 78 industrial facilities in Washington with five
or more violations of their permit limits in 2003, 30, or close to 40%,
did not face any form of documented compliance action or enforcement.
For example, Weyerhaeuser’s Union Gap facility violated its permit
limits 86 times in 2003 and 2004, but the facility was never fined,
reprimanded, or even notified of its violations.
“The
failure to enforce permit effluent limits has been a problem for as
long as there have been pollution discharge permits,” said Sue Joerger,
Puget Soundkeeper, “Consistent enforcement and regular fines could
quickly solve this long standing problem and benefit Puget Sound
today."
The
report showed that over the past decade, the number and complexity of
polluting industries regulated by Ecology has increased significantly.
In the last eight years, the number of permits per Ecology staff person
increased from 581 to 733, or 26%. And according to Ecology’s own
estimates, it cannot meet 15% of its program needs due to lack of
funds.
The
report found that the strain on state enforcement budgets, the
increasing demands on enforcement agencies, and the threat of new
budget cuts limit the ability of Ecology to enforce water quality
regulations. However, the report noted that in some cases, Ecology
simply issued permits that set discharge limits above federal
standards. For example Ecology issued a permit to the Kimberly Clark
Pulp and Paper mill in Everett that potentially allowed discharge
limits for furans, a known carcinogen, above federal limits.
"Orca
whales are the most polluted marine mammals in the world,” said Heather
Trim, Urban Bays Coordinator with People For Puget Sound. “Ecology must
stop the flow of poisons into Puget Sound by enforcing their permits
and accelerating the pace of cleanups.”
In order to improve enforcement of Washington’s water quality regulations, the report called on Ecology to do the following:
1.
Set permit pollution limits based on the needs of the environment and
public health and enforce them through an efficient, comprehensive
system of permitting and regulation
2. Police polluters to ensure accurate self-reporting and compliance with discharge permits
3. Take timely enforcement actions and assess concrete penalties against polluters who violate the law
“This
isn’t rocket science – to improve Washington’s water quality, Ecology
must stop ignoring polluters that break the law,” said Pregulman. “If
Ecology needs more resources to enforce water pollution laws, it must
work with the Legislature and Governor Gregoire to ensure it gets them.”
