But four years later, one environmental group is worried that industrial pollution threatens to make the Mon–and other Pennsylvania rivers–impaired again. PennEnvironment prepared their findings based on compliance data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Two county district attorneys have referred their concerns over pollution to the Monongahela River to the state Attorney General’s Office for further investigation. A workman's touch ignited the fire. . Levels of toxic chemicals in our waters are at times so high that our rivers are too dangerous to swim in, and our waters so contaminated that people cannot drink from them. They claim a company on the Monongahela River is one of the state’s worst polluters. But the plant’s failure to install a scrubbing system for its discharged wastewater means that the dangerous pollutants that formerly fouled the air are now being dumped into the Monongahela River, a drinking water source for more than 350,000 people living south of Pittsburgh. In the spring of 2018, the municipal authority noticed its discharges into the Monongahela River violated its NPDES permit standards for certain chemicals, including ammonia-nitrogen. pollution sign affixed to the door of a gasoline service station across the monongahela river from a united states steel corporation coke plant at clairton, pennsylvania, 20 miles south of pittsburgh. The state’s top violator, according to the report, is SCI Graterford STP, a correctional facility in Montgomery County north of Philadelphia. Monongahela River Basin. On 10 of those occasions, they poured more than 500 percent of their permitted limits for zinc, aluminum, nitrites, styrene, and xylene into the Monongahela River. “Although the polluters mentioned in the PennEnvironment report may not be literally in our backyard, they are upstream and should be held accountable,” said Prizio. The rivers are part of Pittsburgh, and we have to value them as such.”. If Allegheny is ordered to comply, the company will need to install pollution controls that eliminate the discharge of heavy metals as well. “We should feel safe and comfortable in our rivers. Eastman Chemical Resins, on the banks of the Mon and upstream from Pittsburgh, is identified as the second worst with 72 exceedances over its federal permit limit in less than two years. Of those exceedances, half were 100 percent more than Eastman Chemical’s permit allows. Clean air and clean water are not mutually exclusive, nor are they some version of an ecological Sophie’s Choice. The mammoth plant has long been a hotbed of pollution, but the fire made it dramatically worse, spewing outbursts of air pollution that have recurred for months over this town of 6,600 and 22 other small towns nearby. The group’s regional director, Ashleigh Deemer, said Pennsylvania companies top the list. Its geographic location and natural resource endowments made it an ideal home for the industries that inevitably created the pollution problem. But many people in nearby communities are still feeling the effects — and worrying about their health. She has also reported for the Beckley Register-Herald in West Virginia and 100 Days in Appalachia. Read More: Monongahela River Of over 500 industrial facilities studied nationwide, only six facilities surpassed Eastman Chemical and SCI Graterford–three facilities in Arkansas and one each in California, Colorado and Ohio. Throughout the watershed planning … The main stem of the Monongahela River has been acidic, until very recently, throughout its length. Despite efforts to stem the overflow, water carried thousands of gallons to downtown Pittsburgh, where the Monongahela meets the Allegheny to form the Ohio River, and beyond. The report outlines steps that local, state and federal agencies can take to lessen future exceedances, such as strengthening permits, funding more water pollution control grants, increasing inspections and issuing timely penalties. The 1948 Donora smog killed 20 people and caused respiratory problems for 7,000 of the 14,000 people living in Donora, Pennsylvania, a mill town on the Monongahela River 24 miles (39 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. This collection of municipalities, about 10 miles southeast of … The Mon River was classified by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection as impaired, or too contaminated to drink, in 2002. Stay informed on how we hold accountable those who break our environmental laws. The Monongahela River basin has been severely polluted by drainage from coal mining activity. The IWA identifies current existing conditions within the watershed and details the major water resource problems of the watershed. Lachner (l), in his general overview of the ----- The impairments were documented during biological surveys of the aquatic life present in the watershed (1998 and 2002). Lachner (l), in his general overview of the ----- Dissolved-solids concentrations have decreased by 2 percent in the Allegheny River and by 6 percent in the Monongahela River. The Monongahela River is at a crossroads. Pennsylvania facilities are among the top 8 river polluters in a list of more than 500 in the nation. The law makes change. The city’s dark past has been described as a cautionary tale for cities lacking environmental control. Having rebounded from the deadly effects of abandoned mine drainage and unchecked pollution, the Monongahela River carves out a 7,340 square-mile watershed containing woodlands, rolling farmland, active and reclaimed coal mines, and towns rich in the history of the Industrial Revolution. Allegheny Energy is challenging the limits in an effort to avoid installation of pollution controls that would eliminate wastewater discharges of mercury, arsenic, selenium, and … Rather, they are two essential elements that together foster healthy communities. The Ohio River … Deemer said she believes that Pittsburgh’s waterways are just as iconic as the bridges that cross them. DEP has developed a supplement to the MS4 Requirements Tab… Source: PennEnvironment. “Like so many of our great state rivers once sullied by mine drainage and other pollution, the Monongahela is surging back as a vital link to unlimited recreational potential and rich natural and historical resources,” DCNR Secretary Richard Allan said. UNIONTOWN – The district attorneys for Fayette and Washington counties announced Thursday afternoon that the Belle Vernon Municipal Authority and a local landfill have 90 days to work out a Sixty years ago, the nation's worst air pollution disaster occurred in the Monongahela River valley town of Donora. The Monongahela River Watershed Assessment is a two phase study process that will result in a Watershed Plan for the Monongahela basin. “We’ve found that industrial facilities dumped excessive pollution into Pennsylvania waterways 633 times,” she explained. Pollutant Reduction Plan Instructions(PDF) TMDL Plan Instructions(PDF) To assist MS4s with understanding their obligations regarding impaired waters, DEP has prepared an MS4 Requirements Table. Historically, the Monongahela River once supported an abundant and valuable fishery resource. The first phase, an Initial Watershed Assessment (IWA) was completed in February 2012. https://bit.ly/3nE9bFi U.S. Steel says soot pollution levels declined significantly when traffic … Watershed pollution in Appalachia, much of which has been caused by coal mining, is an ongoing environmental hazard that mimics the threat steel once posed to big cities on the Ohio. Having rebounded from the deadly effects of abandoned mine drainage and unchecked pollution, the Monongahela River carves out a 7,340 square-mile watershed containing woodlands, rolling farmland, active and reclaimed coal mines, and towns rich in the history of the Industrial Revolution. In 1994 & 1995 there were two massive mine blowouts that placed the Cheat River on the list of the top 10 most endangered rivers nationwide. Since 2008, the river has “We shouldn’t have to choose between air that is safe to breathe and water that is safe to drink,” said Dillen. There it joins with the Alleghany River to eventually form the Ohio River. Eastman Chemical Resins, Inc., located along the Monongahela River in Allegheny County, upriver from Pittsburgh, exceeded its permitted pollution limits on 72 occasions. But pollution still threatens aquatic life and creates water unfit for human consumption. EPA data suggest that the prison exposed the Wilson River to fecal matter, ammonia and other pollutants 80 times in less than two years. Pollution Water. WARNING DETECTION SYSTEM ON THE ALLEGHENY AND MONONGAHELA RIVERS IN PENNSYLVANIA Jerry G. Schulte Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission Cincinnati, Ohio INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) is an interstate water pollution control agency created in 1948 to It threatens aquatic life, endangers people taking part in river recreation and — perhaps most critically — creates water unfit for human consumption. Cleveland had been a major industrial city since the 1880s, and the mayor then called the river “an open sewer through the center of the city.” But when the Cuyahoga River caught fire in Cleveland in 1969, many believe it became the symbol of out-of-control pollution that … An abandoned mine discharge on the Monongahela River caused a bright orange plume of pollution but didn’t impact public water supplies. The Monongahela River ( mə-NONG-gə-HEE-lə, -HAY-lə) — often referred to locally as the Mon — is a 130-mile-long (210 km) river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania, which flows from south to north. The environmental advocacy group, Penn Environment, is raising a red flag. Chemicals Lurking in Toys and Costumes are Harmful to Children. When it was over, the local funeral home ran out of caskets. EPA Must Act Now. The Mon might be one of the country`s most endangered rivers, according to scientists studying the river. Our rivers are literally and figuratively tied to our regional identity. Another 10 instances went over by more than 500 percent, exposing the Mon River to chemicals including zinc, aluminum and nitrate. What was described as a killer fog blanketed this small company town in 1948. Ohio River-Wikipedia Monongahela River Initial Watershed Assessment Page iii List of Figures Figure 1. The Monongahela River originates in north-central West Virginia and flows north through south-western Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh where it meets the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River. Pollution controls damaged by a Christmas Eve fire are working again. The first phase of the legal proceedings involves only the sulfate and total dissolved solids limits. The Monongahela River forms at the junction of Tygart Valley River and West Fork Rivers in Maron County, WV. Der Monongahela River ([məˌnɑŋ.gəˈheɪ.lə]) ist ein 206 km langer Fluss auf dem Allegheny-Plateau im Norden West Virginias und Westen Pennsylvanias im Osten der Vereinigten Staaten. The Fight for Climate Action Continues as the U.S. Withdraws from Paris Agreement, Statement from Earthjustice on Hurricane Delta, Fighting the Good Fight to Protect the Great Lakes, Earthjustice Felicita A Joe Biden Y Kamala Harris En Su Ceremonia de Juramentación, Earthjustice Congratulates Joe Biden and Kamala Harris As Our Country Enters a New Administration. Pennsylvania is no exception,” said Ashleigh Deemer, of Penn Environment. After 40 years without effective pollution controls, a scrubbing system was recently installed at the Hatfield’s Ferry power plant in Masontown, Penn., limiting the amount of sulfur dioxide and other pollutants the plant pumps into the air. “Companies across the country are regularly exceeding their allowable pollution limits. It is truly hard to say. Adelina Lancianese is a 2017-18 Kroc Fellow at NPR and a 2017 graduate of Georgetown University. The Monongahela River basin has been severely polluted by drainage from coal mining activity. Filter. (412) 697-2933, A new report reveals that industrial facilities in Pennsylvania are among the top polluters of United States rivers, including a chemical company just 16 miles outside of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has an extremely long history of … An abandoned mine discharge on the Monongahela River caused a bright orange plume of pollution but didn’t impact public water supplies. This story comes from our partner, 90.5 WESA. Waters from the Cheat support life all along the 162 miles the water travels to the Monongahela River. According to the report, industrial facilities across the country exceeded federal water pollution levels 8,100 times between January 2016 and September 2017. The Monongahela River Watershed Assessment is a two phase study process that will result in a Watershed Plan for the Monongahela basin. Not just at the Point, where the dark, silty Mon -- lifeblood to heavy industry -- merges with the clearer Allegheny. The Monongahela River originates in north-central West Virginia and flows north through south-western Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh where it meets the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River. David Lawlor was a writer in the Development department. Thomas et al. PennEnvironment notes in the report that the group is concerned about the Trump Administration’s proposed cuts to the EPA, which could cripple an already inefficient clean water enforcement system. “Approximately 40 percent of all major industrial facilities–more than 1,100 in total–reported exceeding their pollution limits at least once,” the report reads. Unfortunately, that’s not the case … and a lot of that is due to the industrial pollution that flows illegally into our rivers every year.”. Buffalo River is a holding basin for industrial and municipal waste. Read the report here.CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Threats from continued mountaintop removal and expanded oil and gas drilling have landed two West … Massive pollution has characterized the river. Reductions in dissolved solids in the Monongahela River have virtually eliminated the exceedences of the SMCL of 500 mg/L (fig. (Photo: Jenny Tabrum / flickr), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window). 1 99 1, Argent et al. Clean water advocates have won the first round in a legal fight over permit limits that would prevent the Hatfield’s Ferry coal-fired power plant from dumping polluted water into the Monongahela River. 67 Bedford SquarePittsburgh, PA 15203 Text JUSTICE to 43428 to receive Earthjustice text message updates. Among 25,450 ballots cast, the Monongahela River received 8,156 votes. “This decision by Pennsylvania’s Environmental Hearing Board is important because it affirms that Hatfield’s Ferry has to meet all necessary limits to protect water quality in the river.”. The main stem of the Monongahela River has been acidic, until very recently, throughout its length. Counties Get $6M to Help Reduce Pollution to the Chesapeake Bay. River in WV, PA. Wikipedia. Which one is more frozen? Earthjustice and its clients are defending protective limits for sulfate and total dissolved solids in the discharge permit for Hatfield’s Ferry and are challenging the failure to impose limits on metals such as arsenic and selenium. “We should not be fearful of going in the water and drinking the water,” Strassburger said. The river flows northward, towards Pittsburgh for a total of 128.7 miles. The decision lays the foundation for requiring a wastewater scrubber system and limiting water pollution from the power plant. Earthjustice attorney Abigail Dillen, representing the Environmental Integrity Project and Citizens Coal Council, successfully fended off a legal challenge from plant owner Allegheny Energy, which sought allowance for its facility to continue polluting the river. Crisis management and plans are most efficiently constructed by joining forces, pooling manpower, equipment resources, capabilities and expertise within a formalized organization - thus the birth of Three Rivers Pollution Response Council, Inc. We are located in the Pittsburgh Port of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Eighth District and EPA’s Region III. The EPA’s 1972 Clean Water Act established a permit system for industrial pollution, setting limits for individual facilities. ... Over the last 40 years the Cheat has faced significant pollution from mine runoff and blowouts. The Ohio River as a whole is ranked as the most polluted river in the US based on 2009 and 2010 data although the more industrial and regional West Virginia/Pennsylvania tributary, Monongahela River, ranked behind 16 other American rivers for water pollution at number 17. Eastman Chemical’s national headquarters has not responded to a request for comment. It is 128 miles long with a drainage basin of 7,340 square miles. PITTSBURGH – A wrongful termination suit from a man who claims he was fired from a water and sewer authority when he refused to dump raw sewage into the Monongahela River is the burden of the West Elizabeth Sanitary Authority, according to Union Township. About 30 miles south of Pittsburgh, Donora was founded by industrialists who saw the location as ideal for metal mills—close to railroads and the barge traffic of the Monongahela River. The company claimed that it was acceptable to foul the river because the scrubber system at Hatfield’s Ferry should be considered an existing source of pollution rather than a “new discharger.” Chief Judge Thomas W. Renwand rejected the company’s argument this week, deciding in favor of our clients. Three rivers, the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio, cross through Pittsburgh’s metropolitan area. His environmental activism stems from an affinity for nature and the deep ecology philosophy espoused by the Norwegian philosopher, Arne Naess. In the recent past, the Monongahela River was wrecked by industrial waste and pollution. Power Plant Ordered to Stop Polluting the Monongahela River After 40 years without effective pollution controls, a scrubbing system was recently installed at the Hatfield’s Ferry power plant in Masontown, Penn., limiting the amount of sulfur dioxide and other pollutants the plant pumps into the air. 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