New York Times: Clean Water Laws Are Neglected, at a Cost to Health

“Across the nation, the system that Congress created to protect the nation’s waters under the Clean Water Act of 1972 today often fails to prevent pollution. The New York Times has compiled data on more than 200,000 facilities that have permits to discharge pollutants and collected responses from states regarding compliance. Information about facilities contained in this database comes from two sources: the Environmental Protection Agency and the California State Water Resources Control Board. The database does not contain information submitted by the states.”

“The New York Times surveyed violations of the Clean Water Act in every state, and the response by state regulators…Figures were compiled by asking states to verify data initially provided by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Any time officials disputed the data, they were asked to provide alternative figures, which were substituted. New Mexico, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Idaho and the District of Columbia were not delegated enforcement of the Clean Water Act. Figures for those states are from the E.P.A. Georgia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Mississippi disputed the E.P.A. figures but did not provide alternative information.”