CLEAN WATER ACT

The EPA has issued a rule that defines which types of waterways in the U.S. will receive federal water quality protections under the 1972 Clean Water Act.

ANN ARBOR, MI — Standing along the Huron River in Ann Arbor, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell recalled what it took to get the Clean Water Act passed by Congress 50 years ago. Thanks to the Clean Water Act, the Rouge River has been transformed and waters like the Huron River that were once too polluted are now popular spots for boating, fishing, swimming, and sourcing drinking water, Dingell said. It has been the nation’s most critical tool for safeguarding streams, wetlands and other waterways, said Rebecca Esselman, Huron River Watershed Council executive director. “Congress passed the Clean Water Act 50 years ago to protect people, not polluters — we must step up now to protect it.”MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS:Are Ann Arbor city leaders walking the talk on climate action? Ann Arbor transit system weighing pros and cons of electric buses5 great hidden gem restaurants in Ann ArborMore pickleball courts coming to Ann Arbor parks due to popular demandThe many lives of the 180-year-old Ann Arbor-area farmhouse that survived suburban sprawl

A Jackson wastewater hauler pleaded guilty for his part in illegally discharging industrial waste into the Jackson sewer system, prosecutors announced.

The snail darter, a tiny Southeastern fish that derailed a federal dam during an epic battle over Endangered Species Act protection in the '70s, is no longer considered imperiled, officials announced.

Several conservative justices expressed reservations about the law’s broad reach. The court’s liberals seemed focused on finding a compromise.

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed handing more power to states and tribes to block major energy projects based on water quality concerns.

In a story published January 24, 2022, about the Supreme Court deciding to take up an important Clean Water Act case, The Associated Press erroneously reported the name of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The United States and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), filed a civil lawsuit against the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority (the Authority), alleging violations of the federal Clean Water Act and Pennsylvania Clean Steams Law. The violations primarily consist of sanitary sewer overflows – typically in the form of wastewater overflowing from manholes – and operation and maintenance violations under its state-issued permits. The Authority’s service areas have historically suffered from sanitary sewer overflows, including over 100 that have occurred in Plumstead Township since 2014. Sanitary sewer overflows pose a substantial risk to public health and the environment. “The federal Clean Water Act requires communities to eliminate or reduce their sewage overflows into the nation’s rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Fisheries Inc., the companies’ manager, and the chief engineer of the commercial fishing vessel Capt. The companies and their manager have also agreed to perform corrective measures to prevent future Clean Water Act violations. The United States alleges in the complaint that, on April 20, 2018, the defendants discharged oil and oily mixtures from the fishing vessel Capt. “The Department of Justice commends the Coast Guard for the investigation that revealed these violations and allowed these polluters to be held accountable.”“Being a steward to our environment is everyone’s responsibility,” said Captain Arex Avanni, Commander, Coast Guard Sector Honolulu and Captain of the Port of Coast Guard District 14. Under the Act, the Coast Guard also has promulgated spill prevention and pollution control regulations for vessels and other facilities.

The complaint, filed along with the settlement, alleges that the crude oil spill injured a critical habitat for the federally-endangered Hine’s emerald dragonfly. Today’s action was filed by the Department of Justice and the State on behalf of the federal and state trustees for natural resources. The designated federal trustees for the natural resources impacted by Buckeye’s oil spill are the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service. The designated state trustees are the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The federal and state trustees have worked together to perform substantial injury assessment work and are engaged in joint restoration planning efforts.

-- The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has been honored for an investigation into a Flint-based company, the owner of which was sentenced to 12 months in prison for dumping millions of gallons of liquid landfill waste into Flint sewers. The DNR release says its investigation into Oil Chem started in October 2015, when Detective Jan Erlandson, a conservation officer in the department’s Environmental Investigations Section, received a complaint from a Flint wastewater plant employee who suspected the illegal dumping. Sanitary sewers in Flint flow to a wastewater treatment plant before the wastewater is sent into the Flint River. Oil Chem paid a civil fine of $250,000 to the city of Flint and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy revoked the company’s waste hauler license. Read more on MLive:Oil Chem owner sentenced to 1 year after illegally dumping millions of gallons of landfill liquid in FlintOil Chem owner accused of dumping nearly 50 million gallons of landfill liquid into Flint sewersOil Chem owner pleads guilty in dumping of 47 million gallons of landfill liquid into Flint sewers

Candidates include Debra Shore, an elected commissioner at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, the agency that manages sewage and storm runoff in Chicago and Cook County, and Micah Ragland, a utility executive who helped lead the response to the Flint, Michigan, water crisis.

WASHINGTON -- Hussey Copper has agreed to perform a comprehensive environmental audit, implement an updated environmental management system, and pay an $861,500 penalty to resolve alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law (PCSL) at its smelting facility in Leetsdale, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. These include chronic exceedances of effluent limits in the facility’s PADEP-issued CWA permit -- limiting oil sheens and discharges of copper, chromium, nickel, oil and grease, lead, pH, total suspended solids and zinc. “This agreement requires Hussey to address their existing environmental violations, as well as implement plans to address any future noncompliance.”Under the settlement, along with payment of the penalty, Hussey Copper will:Conduct a comprehensive review of its wastewater treatment system. The settlement is with Libertas Copper LLC, which does business as Hussey Copper. This settlement furthers EPA’s national compliance initiative to reduce significant noncompliance and improve surface water quality by assuring dischargers comply with NPDES permit requirements.

Flint mayor Sheldon Neeley concerned the environmental impact of the crime will last longer than the sentence.

FLINT, MI-- The owner of Flint-based Oil Chem, Inc. was sentenced to twelve months of imprisonment after dumping millions of gallons of landfill liquid into Flint sewers. Robert J. Massey, owner and president of the chemical company, was accused by federal prosecutors in December of knowingly polluting Flint sewers with 47 million gallons of untreated landfill liquid coming from eight landfills. RELATED: Oil Chem owner accused of dumping nearly 50 million gallons of landfill liquid into Flint sewersHe pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act, a federal law meant to protect water quality, in January. Oil Chem, Inc., located at 711 W. 12th St. in Flint, had a City of Flint permit under the Clean Water Act to discharge some industrial waste within the permit limits. One landfill was found to have polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in its landfill liquid, which are known to have hazardous effects on human health and the environment.

The owner of Oil Chem Inc has been sentenced to one year in prison following an investigation of illegal discharging of landfill leachate into Flint’s sanitary sewer system.

Robert J. Massey, 70, of Brighton, Michigan, pleaded guilty on Jan. 14, to a criminal charge of violating the Clean Water Act. According to court records, Oil Chem, located in Flint, Michigan, processed and discharged industrial wastewaters to Flint’s sewer system. According to the plea agreement filed in federal court, Oil Chem’s permit prohibited the discharge of landfill leachate waste. Landfill leachate is formed when water filters downward through a landfill, picking up dissolved materials from decomposing trash. Nor did Massey disclose to the city when Oil Chem started to discharge this new waste stream, which the permit also required.

Today, as billions of people around the world celebrate Earth Day, I want to acknowledge Department of Justice attorneys, investigators, and professional staff who work every day to advance the cause of justice by enforcing those laws. Although environmental crime and injustice can happen anywhere, communities of color, low-income communities, and tribal communities often bear the highest burden of the harm caused by environmental crime, pollution, and climate change. Earlier this week, I was proud to join EPA Administrator Michael Regan in announcing the nation’s first-ever Environmental Crime Victim Assistance Program. On this 51st Earth Day celebration, we honor our mission by advancing the cause of environmental justice. Read the Attorney General’s remarks at the DOJ-EPA Listening Session on Promoting Justice for Victims of Environmental Crime here.

These alleged unauthorized activities occurred on private land owned by the defendants and on public land managed by BLM, constituting a trespass in violation of the FLPMA. Additionally, under the terms of the proposed settlement, the defendants will place a deed restriction on their property to protect the restored creek and wetlands in perpetuity. This proposed settlement will repair important environmental resources damaged by the defendants. The portions of Vermillion Creek and its adjacent wetlands impacted by the defendants’ unauthorized activities provided aquatic and wildlife habitat, runoff conveyance and groundwater recharge. The straightening of Vermillion Creek contributed to erosion of the bed and banks of the stream and detrimental sediment deposition downstream of the channelization.

Beginning in 2005, the defendants operated earthmoving machinery and filled substantial segments of streams and acres of abutting wetlands. Despite receiving information about the aquatic condition of the property, Lipar did not seek a CWA dredge-or-fill permit. The settlement agreement reached today secures significant mitigation for these alleged violations, while providing fairness for developers who comply with the applicable laws. The proposed consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court in Houston, is subject to a 30-day comment period and final court approval. A copy of the proposed consent decree is available on the Justice Department website at https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.

“Unlike most farmers in California’s Central Valley, Mr. LaPant conducted activities that were not lawful under the Clean Water Act. In between those transactions, evidence shows that LaPant operated earthmoving equipment through at least 900 acres of the property, including directly through streams and wetlands. Even before LaPant purchased the site, he received information that alerted him to the presence of federally protected streams and wetlands on the property. Despite that information, he conducted earthmoving activities in streams and wetlands without a CWA dredge-or-fill permit. The proposed consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, is subject to a 30-day comment period and final court approval.

A company is accused of illegally discharging nearly 48 million gallons of waste from landfills into Flint wastewater system.

While such vessels do not introduce species from foreign ports, they do move ballast water in between ports and can enable their spread. Michigan and other states have state-level ballast water rules that will remain in place until the Coast Guard finalizes new federal requirements. Although Michigan requires oceangoing vessels treat ballast water before passing through state waters, Wisconsin is the only Great Lakes state with an enforcement program that includes inspections. The association argues that there have been “no known successful introductions of aquatic non-native species by ballast water” since 2006, when the U.S. began requiring mid-ocean flushing and exchange of ballast water inspection of ballast takes on ships entering the St. Lawrence Seaway. Several exotic zooplankton species have been found in Lake Erie, although their origins haven’t been traced directly to ballast water.

Kirkwood is the executive director of For Love of Water (FLOW), a non-profit dedicated to, among other things, protecting the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes have been one of the last vestiges of bipartisan compromise during the last four years, especially when it comes to the environment. Kirkwood said the Great Lakes have been a “bright spot” during the Trump administration. While the GLRI has continued to be funded, other efforts that would protect the Great Lakes have not been so fortunate. Now, they say, they can breathe a little easier with a Biden administration on the horizon.

Under the settlement, Fair Grounds will eliminate unauthorized discharges of manure, urine and process wastewater through operational changes and construction projects at an estimated cost of $5,600,000. Fair Grounds’ permit prohibits any discharge unless there is a significant rain event (i.e., when 10 inches of rain falls in 24 hours). In violation of their permit, Fair Grounds has discharged wastewater after as little as a half-inch of rain, as well as in dry weather. Fair Grounds is a horse racing facility located in New Orleans, Louisiana and is surrounded by residential neighborhoods that are considered environmental justice communities. The Fair Grounds’ New Orleans racetrack is a large CAFO, and during a typical horse racing season, Fair Grounds stables as many as 1,800 horses or more at one time.

This Sept. 14, 2020 photo shows shows a Duke Energy natural gas-fired electric power plant on Sutton Lake in Wilmington, N.C. It went online in 2013 and replaced a coal-fired plant that had polluted the lake with coal ash. It would provide a source of steam to generate electricity and a place to cool hot water from an adjacent coal-fired plant. Sutton Lake became popular with boaters and anglers, yielding bass, crappie, bluegill and other panfish. But environmental groups challenging the Trump rule in court say it opens up reservoirs like Sutton Lake to similar abuse.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected arguments by President Donald Trumps administration seeking to limit the reach of a landmark water pollution law in a Hawaii dispute over wastewater indirectly discharged into the Pacific Ocean - a ruling hailed by environmentalists. The wastewater was not directly discharged into the Pacific but rather into groundwater that ended up in the ocean. Circuit Court of Appeals that had allowed the lawsuit by the Hawaii Wildlife Fund and other environmental groups to proceed, saying it was too broad. The environmental groups accused the county of violating the Clean Water Act because several million gallons of treated wastewater from the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility ends up in the Pacific every day. The Trump administration this week finalized a separate regulation that limits federal jurisdiction over certain bodies of water, a move that also face a legal challenge.

The Supreme Court on Thursday sided largely with environmentalists in a case over the reach of the landmark Clean Water Act, ruling that a "loophole" in the law backed by the Trump administration was unlawful. "We do not see how Congress could have intended to create such a large and obvious loophole in one of the key regulatory innovations of the Clean Water Act," Breyer wrote. Environmental groups challenged Maui in court over the pollution, arguing that the Clean Water Act required the facility to obtain a federal permit. Read more: Supreme Court casts doubt on Trump-backed 'loophole' in Clean Water ActA federal district court sided with the environmentalists, and the 9th U.S. "The Supreme Court has rejected the Trump administration's effort to blow a big hole in the Clean Water Act's protections for rivers, lakes, and oceans," he said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court justices across the political spectrum appeared to be searching for a compromise on Wednesday as they considered an important environmental case from Hawaii that could limit the scope of a landmark federal law aimed at curbing water pollution. FILE PHOTO: A woman walks up the steps to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File PhotoThe case focuses on whether a wastewater treatment plant in Maui County should be subject to anti-pollution provisions in the 1972 Clean Water Act. A decision in favor of the county could limit the ability of environmental groups to sue for certain Clean Water Act violations. The justices court seemed receptive to concerns raised by environmentalists that a ruling for the county could allow for polluters to easily evade federal jurisdiction.

FILE PHOTO: A woman walks up the steps to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2019. The justices court seemed receptive to concerns raised by environmentalists that a ruling for the county could allow for polluters to easily evade federal jurisdiction. The Hawaii Wildlife Fund and other environmental groups accused the county of violating the Clean Water Act because several million gallons of treated wastewater from the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility ends up in the Pacific every day. A decision in favor of the county could limit the ability of environmental groups to sue for Clean Water Act violations in certain cases. After the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, the county council agreed to a settlement but the countys mayor refused to sign off on it.

The Supreme Court will hear its first major environment case of the term on Wednesday, with lawyers set to clash over the power of the Clean Water Act to police polluters. The Clean Water Act requires polluters to get federal permits for pollution that enters navigable waters, which includes waterways like the Pacific but does not include groundwater. The Supreme Court agreed to review that decision in February. The agency, which sided with the environmentalists in a brief filed with the 9th Circuit, released a new interpretation of the Clean Water Act in April that was in line with Maui's arguments. The current composition of the Supreme Court includes five Republican appointees and four Democratic appointees, but the justices do not always vote along partisan expectations.

But an upcoming Supreme Court case over water pollution in Maui has shifted her focus about 5,000 miles west. "It's all about the water," said Louis Jeroslow, head brewer at North Carolina brewery Angry Troll Brewing, which signed onto the Supreme Court brief. Maui has argued that because its wastewater enters the ocean only indirectly, no federal permit is required by law. Angry Troll BrewingThe EPA seemed to endorse that interpretation in April, finding that no federal permit is needed if pollution comes through groundwater. Federal courts have been divided over whether this type of indirect pollution requires a federal permit, but Maui has so far lost its battles.

The news came as a "total shock" to some top EPA scientists who were planning to oppose the project on environmental grounds, according to sources. EPA insiders tell CNN that the timing of the agency's internal announcement suggests Trump was personally involved in the decision. Dunleavy met with Trump aboard Air Force One on June 26, as the President's plane was on the tarmac in Alaska. A member of Dunleavy's administration used to work on the Pebble project in public relations. The company's CEO, Collier, also "expressly thanked Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy for his leadership in encouraging EPA to withdraw" its earlier decision.

Federal officials said Tuesday they would not block a proposed copper and gold mine near Alaskas Bristol Bay despite objections by critics who contend it would imperil a fishery and harm wetlands and streams. But Hladick, directed by a top EPA official last month to consider whether to withdraw the agencys veto option, signed Tuesdays notice doing so. Commercial fishermen say that no amount of production or local employment would justify risking contamination of Bristol Bay, where the salmon fishery supports 14,000 jobs and generates revenue of $1.5 billion a year. Captain Melanie Brown, center, pulls salmon from a set net along the banks of Bristol Bay in Naknek, Alaska, near the site of the proposed Pebble Mine. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)The EPAs decision to ignore its own science and risk Bristol Bays entire fishing industry is pure politics, fisherman Alexus Kwachka said in a statement released by Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay, a national coalition.

Today, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement with Dow Silicones Corporation (DSC), resolving alleged environmental violations at the companys chemical manufacturing facility in Midland, Michigan, including alleged violations of the Clean Air Act; the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; the Clean Water Act; the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act; and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. The alleged violations relate to excess emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), unauthorized discharges of pollutants, inadequate management of hazardous waste, and untimely reporting of hazardous substance releases. Excess emissions of HAPs increase the possibility of exposure to pollutants that are known or expected to cause cancer or other serious health effects, as well as adverse environmental conditions. These health effects can include damage to the immune system, as well as neurological, reproductive (e.g., reduced fertility), developmental, respiratory, and other health problems. The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.