Archive for river pollution
New EPA regulations offer huge benefits to rivers
Posted by: | CommentsIn what is being viewed as a huge victory for environmental groups but also for everyone, the EPA is taking long demanded action to keep pollutants from power plant smokestacks out of rivers throughout the US. The new rules will eliminate the current river discharges and protect people and the environment from millions of pounds of metals and other toxins. The two phase ruling will be initially unrolled in July of 2012 with final implementation at the end of January 2014.
As good as the news is many environmental groups such as the Environmental Integrity Project and the Sierra Club have stated that the decision should have been made decades ago when the research was first presented. Releases into the river networks of arsenic, lead, mercury and other toxic pollutants has long been in evidence and many groups have been campaigning long and hard to achieve the results now unfurled. Jennifer Peterson from the EIP added:
“These rules were supposed to have been written nearly 30 years ago—they are not new requirements. Wastewater treatment is affordable, and our waterways are not a dumping ground for toxic waste from coal-fired power plants. We appreciate EPA’s commitment to get these long overdue rules back on track.”
With the EPA now committed to a schedule for better enforcement the continued task of case-by-case evaluations will continue, keeping the responsibility in the hands of officials from each individual state. The ongoing concern is that such existing laws are not applied evenly across the board and have meant that many states have seriously polluted riverways. Many of the toxins and metals have had serious impact to the wildlife along waterways and arsenic and mercury particularly also post added risk to the human population and our ground water supplies.
The positive results from the act will greatly target power plants according to experts, power plants produce more toxic waste than any other single industry in the nation. The administration and better enforcement of the Clean Air Act has resulted in many metals that were previously airborne being flushed into the plant discharges and the disposal process for coal ash. While air quality has certainly improved the problems have thus been transferred to the rivers. The new EPA regulations will ideally provide as much protection to the rivers as the Clean Air Act has provided for the atmosphere. Are you pleased to see these overdue measures now enforced and do you think they go far enough? I’d really like to hear your opinions.
Tags: air pollution, Clean Air Act, environmental integrity project, Environmental protection agency, environmentally conscious, EPA, epa to clean waterways, heavy metals in water, planet forward, pollutants in water, regulations against water pollution, river pollution, Sierra ClubThe River Thames is changing its reputation from that ‘dirty old river’
Posted by: | CommentsFar too often when I write about environmental issues where it seems we are highlighting new causes for concern and the negative impact that we are having on our planet. Whilst I feel obliged to share the stories that spotlight new reports and concerns it’s not often enough that I find some truly good news that I feel like shouting about. Today however is an exception to the rule and goes to show what new standards can accomplish in reviving the habitat for some of our fellow species and our overall environment, even in the heart of a huge city.
I grew up in rural England and was lucky enough to be surrounded by fields and streams that were essentially the picture postcard of the English countryside. My grandparents lived in London and every summer I was lucky enough to spend a few weeks with them to explore the city and all that it had to offer including a very large and dirty river, I guess I caught a bug to return to the town and it’s exactly where I headed when old enough to do so. Through the centre of London flows the River Thames, the ancient base for the city which helped it grow so rapidly through the centuries. Growing up the older generation would tell you about how the big brown river was dead and toxic and how any romance of the visible aspects of the river were lost in the fact that it was so heavily polluted. It really was the colour of mud and unless you were many miles up the river towards Oxford the likelihood of finding much wildlife in or on the water wasn’t terribly high. A new report however by the environment agency in the UK shows that the old river has is changing rapidly and for the good in recent times.
Previously declared biologically dead the water is now once again incredibly supportive tool wide variety of fish, birds and other wildlife. The agency revealed that river water quality in England shows improved results for the 20th consecutive year as a result of tougher EU (European Union) regulations. In fact throughout the country more than two thirds of all rivers were graded as good or very good under the existing guidelines something that was unimaginable in the 1970s. A full report assessing water quality and wildlife statistics will be published toward the end of 2010, the improvements have been the result of stringent regulations and improvements by water companies, far tougher consequences for polluters and significant changes to industry waste and farming practices in the country.
Much of the lower portion of the river is tidal and record numbers of sea trout have recently been found many miles upstream in waters that previously would have killed them. Paul Leinster from the environment agency added that “Rivers are their cleanest for over a century and the environment agency is working hard to ensure this trend continues”
I wish my grandparents were alive to see the gradual transformation of the “dirty old river” into a cleaner and healthier thoroughfare through the heart of the city but needless to say I’m thrilled to read this report and share it with you.
Video about Thames improvements
Tags: cleaner rivers, dirty old river, environment agency, environmentally friendly, london, london river, planet forward, pollution control, return of wildlife, river pollution, river thames, river thames cleanliness, river thames pollution, sea trout, urban pollution, water quality, water sanitation, wildlife habitatsNew cruse ship sewage ban for 2011
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve never been one who really enjoys an extended period of time in a confined space therefore going on a cruise has never held particular appeal to me. I’ve been on ferries crossing the Irish Sea and the North Sea to visit Ireland and Europe but always using the ship as a method of transport not as a holiday. Naturally without my participation the cruise industry is still huge and growing on an annual basis. While I lived in Los Angeles I marveled at the size of the magnificent ships harboured in San Pedro waiting like sentinels to take their cargo of two or three thousand holidaymakers down the Pacific Coast to various Mexican and Central American ports of call. I never realized until reading a recent article that sewage from these huge vessels was not previously restricted for dumping in coastal waters.
Happily new federal regulations will now ban all cruise ships and larger commercial ships from discharging their sewage within 3 miles of the California coastline according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. The laws come into play in 2011 and it is estimated that the results will keep approximately 20,000,000 gallons of sewage away from coastal waters annually. In addition to cruise ships commercial boats in excess of 300 tons will also be subject to the same rulings. The US Coast Guard will also have the authority to charge vessels with sewage violations. Naturally enough when a cruise ship with sometimes as many as 4000 passengers takes to the seas it becomes the equivalent of a small city offshore and all the resultant pollution that goes with that many residents.
Many cruise lines are stating that the ban will have little impact as they already have internal policies which reflect an earlier law that was passed in 2005 with many operators now keeping sewage in large tanks to either dump further out at sea or transferred to wastewater treatment facilities. Nevertheless the impact on commercial vessels should also help the water quality on the Pacific coast that has continued to deteriorate in recent decades. The law makes perfect sense especially when stringent laws have already been passed to reduce runoff from rivers and sewage centers and pipes that are onshore.
I still don’t think it’s enough to make me want to jump on a 10 day cruise and have dinner with strangers every evening but it’s good to see the EPA holding the cruise industry to task when it comes to environmental matters. Surely the best procedure of all would result in banning the discharge of sewage anywhere on the seas rather than just the coastal barrier that has now been more properly enforced. One step at a time but it’s most certainly a step in a positive direction.
Tags: California coastal waters, coastal sewage ban, coastal sewage restrictions, cruise industry and pollution, cruise ship industry, cruise ship sewage, CSR cruise industry, environmental laws, Environmental protection agency, environmental regulations, EPA, ocean pollution, Ocean sewage, planet forward, polluted ocean, river pollution, sewage, sewage discharge, sewage in the ocean, US Coast Guard, wastewater management, wastewater treatment
