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Clean Water In the News

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Report: Facilities exceeded permits - Brazosport Facts (new window)
4/4/2006
A recent report by a consumer action group alleges hundreds of Texas factories and utilities are guilty of regularly dumping more pollution into state waterways than allowed.
more. . .
Several Baytown facilities cited in report - The Baytown Sun (new window)
4/20/2006
Fifty-eight percent of the state’s industrial facilities, including several in the Baytown area, discharged more pollution into waterways between July 1, 2003 and Dec. 31, 2004 than their operating permits allowed under the federal Clean Water Act.
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Mercury finds its way through Georgetown sewage plant - Austin American-Statesman (new window)
3/30/2006
A wastewater treatment plant just outside Georgetown pumped excessive amounts of mercury into the Brazos River basin as recently as June 2005, according to a review of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency records by the Austin American- Statesman.
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Report: Polluters Dirty Harris County Waters - KUHF Houston Public Radio (new window)
3/27/2006
A new report says industrial and municipal facilities in Harris County are some of the worst violators of the Federal Clean Water Act, polluting rivers, lakes, bayous and the ship channel at record pace.
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Report Says Texas awash in overly polluted water - San Antonio Express News (new window)
3/24/2006
A new report charges that hundreds of industrial and municipal facilities around the state, including a local sewage treatment plant, routinely dump more pollution into rivers and streams than their permits allow.
more. . .
New report shows violations of the Clean Water Act - KUT Austin Public Radio (new window)
3/24/2006
The Clean Water act was created in 1972 with the goal of eliminating pollution from America's waterways by 1985. But according to a new report -- 29-percent of Texas's lakes are still too polluted for swimming or fishing.
more. . .
Texas gets bad grade in 'Troubled Waters' report - Bay Area Citizen (new window)
10/19/2007
A report released last week found that Texas' waterways, particularly Harris County's, are swimming with bacteria and pollutants, which leaves no safe room for fish or humans to enjoy many of the waterways. Environment Texas, an environmental group based in Austin, compiled the report called "Troubled Waters: An Analysis of 2005 Clean Water Act Compliance" from information collected by the Environment Protection Agency.
more. . .
Hazardous Chemicals Found In Local Waterways - KBTV NBC Beaumont (new window)
10/15/2007
Two well-known waterways here in Southeast Texas are filled with hazardous chemicals. A 2006 report released by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, says the Sabine River above the Toledo Bend Reservoir ranked 5, the worst when it comes to bacteria. The entire Neches River received the same ranking. The data was used by Environment Texas when they compiled a 12-month report. The Report stated the city of Beaumont and the Lumberton Municipal Utility District both ranked in the top twenty in Texas for exceeding their clean water permits. A spokesman for the group says many municipalities don't have the money to make the necessary improvements. Environment Texas says the city of Orange dumped nearly twice the acceptable level of copper into the Sabine River back in 2005. The group warned if the pollution continues at these levels, it could spell danger for Southeast Texans playing on the waterways.
more. . .
Some Texas waters unsafe - Athens Review (new window)
10/15/2007
Waters in Henderson County were among those listed in a report by an advocacy called Environment Texas as being unsafe for swimming of fishing. The report was based on information from the Environmental Protection agency, that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality termed as dated.
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Clean-water woes abound in Texas - San Antonio Express-News (new window)
10/12/2007
Texas leads the nation in the number of treatment plants and industrial facilities that fail to meet pollution standards for the wastewater they dump into rivers and streams, according to a report released Thursday. The report, Troubled Waters, found that 318, or about 53 percent, of the state's major industrial and wastewater plants failed Clean Water Act standards in at least one of 12 reporting periods in 2005.
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Texas leads nation in number of water polluters - Fort Worth Star-Telegram (new window)
10/12/2007
AUSTIN -- Texas led the nation in the number of facilities discharging pollution at levels exceeding federal clean water guidelines, according to a new report from an environmental watchdog group. The Austin-based Environment Texas said that in 2005, 318 facilities in the state reported 1,340 incidents in which they discharged more pollution than permitted under the federal Clean Water Act. The group also reported that more than 53 percent of Texas' industrial and municipal facilities discharged more pollution in 2005 than permitted under the law.
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Group says more than half of Texas waterways unsafe - Houston Chronicle (new window)
10/12/2007
SAN ANTONIO — More than half of the state's waterways are unfit for fishing or swimming 35 years after the original version of the Clean Water Act was enacted in the U.S., according to an environmental advocacy group's report released Thursday. Austin-based Environment Texas said the state was the fourth-worst violator of Clean Water Act pollution permit limits in 2005. The group said 318 "major facilities" in Texas — such as sewage and water treatment plants and oil refineries — exceeded pollution discharge limits at least once for a total of 1,348 violations.
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Advocacy group reports top water violators - McKinney Courier Gazette (new window)
10/12/2007
Garland was one of a handful of cities across the Metroplex that went over its water permit limit in 2005, according to a new report on water quality violations marking the 35th anniversary of the federal Clean Water Act, which was introduced to protect streams and rivers in North Texas from pollution. Compliance records attained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by the Environmental Texas and Policy Center, an Austin-based advocacy group show how often a treatment plant exceeded its permit limits.
more. . .
10/12/2007
A new report on water quality violations marking the 35th anniversary of the federal Clean Water Act documents incomplete progress in protecting streams and rivers in North Texas from pollution. The Environment Texas Research and Policy Center, an Austin-based advocacy and study group, requested compliance records covering 2005 for major dischargers from the Environmental Protection Agency. The records show how often a treatment plant exceeded its permit limits.
more. . .
10/12/2007
Dirty water still flows through Texas on the 35th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, environmental groups find. Environment Texas released a report on Thursday to show how facilities regulate pollutant discharge. The nonprofit advocacy group found that 53 percent of Texas facilities released more pollutants than permits allow, said Luke Metzger, director of Environment Texas.
more. . .
Watering down Clean Water Act - Amarillo Globe News (new window)
10/12/2007
Austin-based Environment Texas, a self-described "statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy organization," released its "Troubled Waters" report Thursday. According to "Troubled Waters," more than half of the state's waterways are not fishable or swimmable despite the Clean Water Act, which was first enacted 35 years ago. In 2005, Texas had 318 "facilities" that violated pollution restrictions, making the state the fourth-worst offender.
more. . .

For more information on clean water issues, contact:


Luke Metzger

Director

(512) 479-0388

Contact Luke Metzger.

 

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