Water Quality fall2008

Local Water Quality

For our topic we are focusing on stream water pollution regulations within Pennsylvania. We are choosing to look at numerous point source polluters such as Land O’ Lakes, the Huntsdale Fish Hatchery, Carlisle and Harrisburg Sewage Treatment Plants, or Glatfelter Paper Company. We intend to look at the regulations that the above sources have to comply with and whether or not it is cost-effective for them to do so. Some specific questions that we may investigate include whether there are more local regulations other than the statewide regulations. We also hope to determine whether the point dischargers are in compliance with their regulations and if the discharges are financially able to abide by these regulations. We may also investigate who is responsible for the enforcement of these regulations and how stringent the enforcement is. Additionally, the effectiveness of cap-and-trade for pollutants such as nutrients from the Harrisburg Sewage Treatment Plant may be evaluated.