153 Federal Water Pollution Violations In 21 Months From Just 5 PA Companies; Xylene, Cadmium, More

A new report from environmental advocacy group PennEnvironment found five industrial facilities in Western Pennsylvania violated their federal water permits a total of 153 times in a 21-month period. All violations came from four corporations: Eastman Chemical Resins, Hussey Copper, Hatfields Ferry Power Station, and Max Environmental Technologies, Inc. (Max Environmental Technologies had two facilities on the list.)

The report found Pennsylvania had the second highest number of Clean Water Act infractions in the nation—633, which was second only to Texas, which had 938. The group looked at federal data from January 1, 2016, through September 30, 2017.

"Decades after the Clean Water Act was signed into law, nearly 20,000 miles of rivers and streams in Pennsylvania are still considered unsafe for fishing and swimming," Stephanie Wein, the Clean Water Advocate at PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center, said in a statement. "And instead of ratcheting pollution down to zero, facilities are still dumping chemicals and other pollutants into our waters beyond the legal limits set to protect health and the environment."

Violations are documented when facilities release toxic substances into publicly-owned waterways at greater levels than permitted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The violations reported in Western Pennsylvania included substances like aluminum, oil and grease, nickel, copper, xylene, cadmium and ammonia nitrogen.

EDIT

http://www.ehn.org/pennsylvania-clean-water-act-violations-2554119212.html