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March 29,
2006
Partially treated sewage flows into
lake in testing mishap
An estimated 800,000 gallons of
partially treated sewage was mistakenly dumped into Lake
Michigan on Wednesday at the Jones Island Wastewater
Treatment Plant during testing of a new computer operating
system, a Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District spokesman
reported.
Journal Sentinel article
March 23,
2006
Polluters foul Wisconsin's waters
Nearly Half Exceeded Clean Water
Act Pollution Limits in Recent 18-Month Period
More than 42.6 percent of
industrial and municipal facilities across Wisconsin
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 today by
WISPIRG, the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group.
“Polluters are using Wisconsin’s
waters as their
dumping ground. Instead of solving the problem, the
Bush administration is slashing the EPA’s budget and
weakening critical clean water programs,” said Jennifer
Giegerich, WISPIRG State Director.
While the 1972 Clean Water Act
has made significant strides toward 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 Wisconsin, more
than 48 percent of rivers and 63 percent of lakes are
impaired.
Using the Freedom of Information
Act, WISPIRG obtained data on facilities’ compliance with
the Clean Water Act between July 1, 2003 and December 31,
2004. WISPIRG researchers found that polluters repeatedly
exceeded their permit limits, often by egregious amounts.
Findings include:
More than 42.6 of Wisconsin’s industrial and municipal
facilities exceeded their Clean Water Act permits at least
once between July 1, 2003 and December 31, 2004. Wisconsin
ranks 42nd in the country for percentage of
facilities exceeding their pollution permits.
129 facilities in Wisconsin reported 130 exceedances of
their Clean Water Act permits during the 18-month period,
ranking the state 40th in the country for
the most exceedances.
On average, Wisconsin facilities exceeding their Clean Water
Act permits did so by 125.2 percent, or by more than two
times the legal limit.
Polluters in Wisconsin reported 4 instances in which they
exceeded their Clean Water Act permit by at least 500
percent over the legal limit.
“All Wisconsinites deserve clean
water to drink and safe places to swim and fish. To clean up
our waterways, this continuing pollution must stop,” said
Giegerich.
Giegerich also noted that the
findings are likely conservative, since the data that
WISPIRG analyzed includes only EPA data on “major”
facilities and does not include pollution discharged into
waters by the hundreds of thousands of minor facilities
across the country.
Several local Wisconsin
facilities were highlighted in the report for their
exceedances of water quality standards in their Clean Water
Act permits at least once between July 1, 2003-December 31,
2004, including waste water treatment facilities (WWTFs) in
Cedarburg, Port Washington, Jackson Village, Sheboygan, and
West Bend. “The fact that almost all of our local violators
are waste water treatment facilities highlights the need for
more federal funding to help local communities upgrade their
sewer systems” said Cheryl Nenn, Riverkeeper for Friends of
Milwaukee’s Rivers.
WISPIRG 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.
"Polluted water not only affects the water we drink and cook
with and where our children swim right now, but it can also
have a lasting impact for generations to come. It is
essential that we keep all of our streams and waterways free
of pollution," Congresswoman Moore said. "We must close
this dangerous loophole to reaffirm Clean Water Act
protections for millions of acres of wetlands, streams,
ponds, and lakes that have been made vulnerable by the Bush
Administration rules."
In addition, WISPIRG applauded
Representative Gwen Moore for sponsoring the Clean Water
Authority Restoration Act, which ensures all U.S. waters are
protected by the Clean Water Act. WISPIRG called for
Representatives Petri, Sensenbrenner, Green, and Obey to
support this important bill.
In order to achieve the goals of
the Clean Water Act, WISPIRG 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 Giegerich.
March 16,
2006
MMSD dumps 3.27 million gallons of
waste
An estimated 3.27 million
gallons of waste was dumped into local waterways during
Monday's storm, according to the Milwaukee Metropolitan
Sewerage District.
Most of the waste, 2.7 million gallons, was dumped in an
area where a single sewer captures both rain and sewage.
Such dumping is permitted up to six times a year under a
permit issued by the state Department of Natural Resources.
Another 570,000 gallons was dumped near Bay View Park from a
pipe that is supposed to carry only waste. Separated sewage
overflows are not allowed under the district's state permit
and are prohibited under the federal Clean Water Act except
during extreme conditions.
Journal Sentinel article
March 13,
2006
Storm brings flooding, sewage dumping
in Southeast Wisconsin
A winter storm dropped more than
20 inches of snow at locations in northwestern Wisconsin,
producing flooding in southeastern counties and sewage
dumping at nine locations along Milwaukee's rivers and at
two points on the lakefront on Monday.
One of the points where dumping
occurred is at S. Kinnickinnic and E. St. Francis avenues,
part of the separated sewer area. Under federal law, sewage
is not supposed to be dumped in the separated sewer area
because it is more concentrated waste.
Journal Sentinel article
March 9,
2006
WDNR organizes community meeting to
discuss PCBs at Estabrook Impoundment
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
6:00 to 7 PM – Open House/Informal Discussions. 7 PM -
Meeting
Blatz Pavilion, Lincoln Park
Wisconsin DNR has organized a community meeting is to share
information and begin a dialog about cleaning up the
Estabrook Impoundment. This constructive dialog is critical
to developing a partnership that will facilitate cleanup.
Representatives from the EPA, DNR, Milwaukee County, City of
Milwaukee, City of Glendale and our Senators and Congressmen
are invited to the meeting. All interested community members
are encouraged to attend.
Additional resources:
Agenda for community meeting on March 15th
Letter to Parks Director Sue Black, calling for community
meeting
Estabrook Impoundment Sediment Remediation Briefing Strategy
Map
of PCB levels at Estabrook Impoundment
EPA Superfund Process – Removals and Remedial Options
Process for Great Lakes Legacy Funds
March 3,
2006
Study finds most rivers are tainted with
pesticides
Even the small amounts of
pesticides, at concentrations unlikely to affect people, can
be harmful to the overall ecosystem, said Lynn Broaddus,
executive director of the Friends of Milwaukee's Rivers.
"We don't really know a lot about the interactions of these
things," Broaddus said. "The limits are one pesticide at a
time, but what we're getting is a whole cocktail of
pesticides in our water. It can't be a good thing to have
that in our drinking water and in our rivers."
Journal Sentinel article |
