Water pollution sp 09

Clean Water Act of 1972

The Clean Water Act of 1972 was one of the first actions the United States made in their efforts to create cleaner water standards and regulations. Under the Clean Water Act, water being emitted into a navigable water source is subject to water quality laws that are site-based and different for each body of water. In order to legally emit water into a navigable water source you must obtain a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency and follow strict guidelines and quality standards. Under the Act, those who violate the standards are subject to financial fines and potential prison sentencing.

Water Quality Standards

In determining the acceptable amount of pollution, a risk-based standard is used. Each body of water is considered different with site-specific standards. In determining the standards they assess what the body of water is used for taking into account recreation, water supplies, aquatic life and habitats. Once the body of water has been assessed a water quality criteria is used to apply a numeric pollution allowance. Included in the water quality criteria is a list of all the pollutants and the allowable amount of each. Those who obtain a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency are required to abide by the water quality criteria and self-monitor their discharges to assure that they are not in violation of the standards.

Monitoring

Each permit holder is responsible for monitoring and submitting their results to the Environmental Protection Agency summarizing their discharge. In the discharge reports they report each type of chemical that they are emitting and the amount in parts-per-million being discharged. In order to assure that each permit holder is being truthful in their reports the Environmental Protection Agency performs random inspections to make sure what they find matches the self-monitored discharge reports. There are major disincentives to not being truthful in discharge reports and not meeting the criteria standards set for the specific body of water.

Enforcement

In the event that a permit holder violates the water quality standards there are significant financial and social consequences. For the first offense, there is a minimum fine of $2,500 and a maximum of $25,000 per day of violation. For the second offense there is a maximum fine of $50,000 per day, along with a maximum jail sentencing of one year. These penalties are enforced when a permit holder unknowingly violates the standards. When violations are knowingly made, there are much greater consequences. A fine of $250,000 and up to 15 years of imprisonment can be assessed to an individual and up to $1,000,000 fines for an institution. The Environmental Protection Agency has such great penalties for violating the standards because they want to discourage the temptation of trying to get away with violating the standards. With such high penalties people and organizations are much more willing to follow the standards set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Carlisle Water Treatment Plant

The Carlisle Water Plan was created in 1853. Updates on the facilities have been done in 1932, 1949, 1965, 1993 and in 2002. The Water Plant provides clean water for the Borough of Carlisle and North Middleton. The Conodoguinet Creek is the provider of water, which then is treated to meet Federal and Sates regulations for clean water. In case of an emergency the Plant has connections with South Middleton and North Middleton, which can provide up to 1,500,000 gallons per day of clean water. In order to assure that the water is completely safe and clean there are tests preformed to check taste and color of the water to make sure they meet the Safe Drinking Water Act. To meet the demand of the clean water the plant is open 365 days a year and 24 hours a day.

Partnership for Safe Water Program

The Partnership for Safe Water Program is a completely voluntary organization that motive is to maintain and prevent water treatment facilities. This organization is made up of the DEP, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Pennsylvania Section American Water Works Association. There are three stages in this process and Carlisle just finished phase three. Phase three is where weaknesses are identified where bacteria might be getting into the clean water. Currently 110 treatment plants that are serving 5.2 million people are a part of this program. This program, though fairly new, has helped create a safer drinking water for a growing population.

Water Contaminants

Agricultural Runoff

Agricultural Runoff is one of the leading contributors to water quality impacts on surveyed lakes and rivers in the United States. http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:zTfmf90Te_QJ:www.epa.gov/owow/nps/Ag_Runoff_Fact_Sheet.pdf+agricultural+runoff+water+quality+carlisle&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us In Carlisle it is the most significant potential contributor to the contamination of local water sources such as the Conodoguinet Creek. Agricultural runoff is the result of both crop growth and animal feeding operations.

Crops

Soil sedimentation is the most prevalent source of water contamination due to agricultural runoff. Rainwater washes soil off fields polluting streams and water sources nearby. This excess soil clouds water and damages aquatic plants by eliminating their source of sunlight. This soil can also clog the gills of fish and other aquatic wildlife.

Fertilizers and pesticides attached to these soil particles also have an adverse effect on water quality. The agricultural industry has become increasingly dependent on the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Fertilizers contain high levels of nitrogen and phosphorous. When phosphorous is carried into water sources it leads to accelerated eutrophication of these waters, limiting their use for fisheries, drinking, and recreation (Lal).

Animal Feeding Operations

Farmers confine animals to small areas in order to make feeding and maintaining these animals more efficient. These areas then become sources of animal waste. If farmers don’t properly maintain their animal feeding operations, this waste which carries bacteria and viruses as well as oxygen-demanding organic compounds, runs off into nearby water sources. Animal waste can also seep into and contaminate groundwater.

Urban Runoff

The permeable and varied nature of the terrain in natural landscapes allows water to seep into and filter through the ground and therefore runoff tends to reach water sources gradually. In cities and urban landscapes, water flows directly over the land on the surfaces of roads, bridges, and parking lots. As water drains into sewage systems, it gains speed causing erosion and widening stream channels. This damage results in “lower water depths during non-storm periods, higher than normal water levels during wet weather periods, increased sediment loads, and higher water temperatures.”

Urban runoff carries pollutants from a number of sources. Lawn care chemicals, roadway pollutants such as excess oil and gas, bacteria from failing sewage systems are the main contributors to water quality problems. All of these pollutants flow into local water sources harming the fish and wildlife populations, damaging native vegetation, and contaminating drinking water sources.

Industrial Discharge

During fall semester 2008, students researched specific sources of industrial discharge including the Huntsdale Fish Hatchery, the Land O Lakes factory, the Harrisburg Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility, and P.H. Glatfelter Company. The link to view their research is below:

Land O Lakes

The Land O Lakes Factory is a large dairy facility located in Mount Holly Springs, PA. It is the largest butter plant on the east coast, processing over 400 thousand pounds of butter every day. The facility has been permitted by the State Department of Environmental Protection to dump treated waste water into a nearby stream which flows into Mountain Creek.

Land O Lakes has routinely violated the Clean Streams Law due to plant malfunctions or other unusual events. Violations date back to 1995 and have occurred more recently in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2008. Each violation results in a civil penalty fee that the facility must pay to the Department of Environmental Protection in order to keep their permit.

Recent Violations

Last year the facility violated the Clean Streams Law twice, in the summer months of June and July. Both of these violations caused numerous fish deaths and the pollution of Mountain Creek. As a result of these violations Land O Lakes was ordered to pay a violation fee of $55,152.

In early April 2009 small white globs found floating in Mountain Creek, which were determined to be bubbles of fat caused by a combination of pH levels and temperature. The facility took action to remove these globules immediately. The company is looking into taking action to prevent these events from occurring in the future. They are expected to install additional equipment which will help filter out waste and they are also looking to relocate the location of the industrial waste discharge to a larger channel of Mountain Creek.