The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
DEEP must do a better job protecting waters
Connecticut residents sure have a lot to be worried about these days with budget deficits and an opioid crisis.
Connecticut residents sure have a lot to be worried about these days.
Budget deficits, unequal education funding, an opioid crisis, a state in continued economic decline and possible new taxes and fees on the way, are just a few of the challenges ahead.
Now comes word that businesses are exceeding the quantity of toxins they are allowed to dump into our waters.
Nearly 30 companies — half of the 60 that can legally discharge wastewater into Connecticut’s rivers and other bodies of water — exceeded the amounts of toxic metals or other pollutants their permits allowed over the last three years, according to an analysis by Connecticut Health ITeam (C-Hit).
Data show 23 of the 60 companies were in noncompliance with the terms of their permits for at least half of the three years and 13 companies were found in significant noncompliance — the most serious level of violation — for three months or more.
The reasons ranged from excessive discharges to submitting late discharge reports.
And for the most part, they are getting away with it.
At least 19 companies exceeded the quantity of material they were allowed to discharge by more than 100 percent, according to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
But despite the violations, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has only fined two of the 29 companies found to be in noncompliance. The rest? EPA records show DEEP more commonly issues notices of violation or noncompliance or warning notices, opting to work with violators for months or years to correct the problems.
DEEP has the authority to fine or take court action against polluters, the question is why isn’t the agency enforcing our laws — particularly when it involves public health?
It appears it’s another one of those laws Connecticut has on the books but does not have the money to hire the personnel to enforce.
Oswald Inglese, DEEP’s director of water permitting and enforcement, defends the agency’s record, stating it receives a large volume of compliance monitoring information monthly, but reviewing all the information with its limited resources “far exceeds the capacity of department staff.”
He said the agency “is primarily focused on occurrences of significant noncompliance.”
Companies violating the Clean Water Act and dumping pollutants into the water is happening across the United States — from Hawaii to Oklahoma to West Virginia to here in Connecticut — and state environmental advocates are alarmed at the lack of oversight.
Margaret Miner, executive director of Rivers Alliance of Connecticut, said “while some of the violations are undoubtedly minor, some are serious, and all deserve scrutiny.” She makes a good point. Under the Clean Water Act, any noncompliance is considered a violation, grounds for enforcement or loss of permit.
But four industrial permit holders — Connecticut Galvanizing of Glastonbury, UniMetal Surface Finishing in Thomaston, Plainfield Renewable Energy in Plainfield and the U.S. Navy’s submarine base in Groton — were found in noncompliance every quarter from October 2013 to September 2016, data show.
But none were fined by DEEP.
State environmental groups say DEEP needs stronger enforcement and companies should not be allowed to remain in noncompliance for months or years — but should be fined immediately. The groups says the lax enforcement has resulted in the pollution of some of the state’s most popular waterways, such as the Connecticut, Naugatuck, Housatonic, Thames and Quinnipiac rivers.
The Clean Water Act was enacted in 1972 as a national commitment to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters.
Perhaps DEEP needs a reminder. DEEP must do a better job protecting our waters from pollutants — and fining the companies that illegally dump toxins beyond their scope.