Report: AZ Facilities Often in Violation of CWA Limits

A recently released report analyzing compliance with the Clean Water Act finds Arizona is not an exception among states; its industrial and municipal facilities, often having exceeded their CWA pollution limits in 2005, reflect a national trend.

The report, Troubled Waters: An Analysis of Clean Water Act Compliance in 2005, found that 57 percent of all major U.S. industrial and municipal facilities discharged more pollution into waterways than allowed by law at least once during 2005, with the average facility exceeding its pollution permit limit by 263 percent. This is close to four times the legal limit.

In Arizona, over 42 percent of industrial and municipal facilities discharged more pollution into state waterways than their CWA permits allowed in 2005. Twenty-three facilities accounted for 200 of the violations. On average, Arizona facilities in violation of CWA exceeded their limits by 821.6 percent or nine times the legal limit.

The report further indicates that Arizona polluters in 60 instances exceeded their CWA permit by at least 500 percent over the legal limit. At the national level, major facilities exceeding their CWA permits surpassed, on average, permit limits by 263 percent or nearly four times the allowed amount. The 10 U.S. states with the highest averages in exceedance of permit limits are New Mexico, Vermont, Arizona, West Virginia, Iowa, Mississippi, Illinois, Indiana, California and Hawaii.

Appendix B of the report lists Arizona facilities that exceeded their CWA permits at least once between Jan. 2005 and Dec. 2005, as well noting the waters receiving the pollutants, the kind of pollutants and the percent of exceedance. Appendix B shows that Arizona’s most egregious violator is the International Wastewater Treatment Plant in Nogales. The IWTP has the dubious distinction of being the only facility in the state exceeding limits every reporting period of 2005, scoring a total of 45 violations. Most of the violations were due to high levels of nitrogen and ammonia in effluent discharged into the Santa Cruz River.
Erik Magnuson, program associate with Environment Arizona, says the report’s findings only reflect major operations in the states, not the thousands of minor facilities also discharging pollution in waterways across the country. As such, the results, according to Magnuson, are just the tip of the iceberg.

The CWA was passed in 1972 with the intent to eliminate discharges of pollutants into waterways and ensure that all U.S. waterways are swimmable and fishable. In what has proven to have been an over optimistic expectation, the drafters of the law intended that the discharge of all pollutants to be eliminated within 15 years of the laws passage. In the three and half decades of its enforcement, the CWA, however, has noticeably improved water quality. The report makes the case that much more work remains to be done.

The information was obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The year 2005 is the latest year that CWA compliance records of major U.S. facilities are available.
The report was published by Environment Arizona, an advocacy group, and its release was timed to coincide with the 35th anniversary of the CWA. The full report is available at:
http://www.environmentarizona.org/


House Water Caucus Formed to Collectively Address Issues

The formation of a Bipartisan House Water Caucus is underway, with two Arizona congressmen among the initial members. A Sept. 12 “Dear Colleague” letter, signed by the five co-chairs and 30 members in the House of Representatives, stated that the caucus, “will alllow members of congress committed to the goals of promoting dialogue about our nations’s water issues to have a meaningful educational venue and forum about how best to realize those goals.”

Western states are well represented in the caucas, with three of the five co-chairs and 12 members from California, four members from Texas, two from Arizona, as well representation from Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Nevada and Oregon. The two Arizona congressmen are Republican John Shadegg and Democrat Gabrielle Giffords.

Outlined in the letter are 12 principles defining the caucus’ goals including supporting water re-use policies, improving coordination among state and federal regulators, easing the federal barriers and “red tape” facing state-level public works projects, opening new avenues for water infrastructure finance and encouraging federal assistance for groundwater banking.

Valentina Valenta from Co-Chair John Linders (R-GA) office says the caucus’ co-chairs have agreed that one of the first tasks will be to gather support and pass HR 135. First introduced in the 107th Congress, the bill passed the House in the 108th and the 109th sessions but never made it though the Senate.
H.R. 135 authorizes the president to appoint a nine-member 21st Century Water Commission, made up of national water experts, to study all aspects of water management and develop recommendations for a comprehensive national water policy.

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