Sewage spills threaten drinking water, spoil recreation, hinder economic values, and harm wildlife. River advocates across the nation are fighting the rising tide of sewage pollution.
An article appearing in today's Examiner, here in DC, features Act for Healthy Rivers supporter Shenandoah Riverkeeper, Jeff Kelble . The article follows up on a story the Slog covered in brief a couple weeks ago. Here's the full story from the Examiner:
A group of environmental advocates is suing Virginia over a decision it says allows a sewage plant to continue polluting waters that flow into the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay.
The discharge from the North Fork Modular Reclamation and Reuse Facility was considered so harmful that a Rockingham County judge in February deemed it "a substantial threat to public health and the environment" and ordered the owner to install millions of dollars' worth of new control measures.
After nearly 13 months of legal deliberation, Jeff Kelble, the Shenandoah Riverkeeper, and the VA Attorney General finally succeeded in forcing the sale of the SIL Clean Water, LLC North Fork Modular Reclamation and Reuse Facility, in Rockingham Jeff Kelble: Shenandoah RiverkeeperCounty, Virginia. The charges against SIL included violating the discharge limitations in the permit as to total phosphorus, total nitrogen, ammonia, fecal coliform, biochemical oxygen demand, and total suspended solids on numerous occasions. The exact scope of the damage SIL has done to the Shenandoah River is unknown. With the source of the massive fish kills in the past unresolved, containing this problem is one step closer to understanding the dynamic issues plaguing the Shenandoah. We commend Jeff, the VA Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Attorney General for pressing for the just resolution of this blatant disrespect of our communities and resources. Keep up the good work.
Now the Spills of the Week: