By MARK TODD -
Staff Writer - mtodd@starbeacon.com
COLUMBUS — Ashtabula County ranked among the top counties in the country for its number of entities that violated water discharge permits more than once during 2005.
The information was contained in a 97-page report compiled by Environment Ohio, and the data indicates the state led the nation in permit violations during the year.
Ashtabula County had 11 facilities that violated limits allowed in permits more than once during 2005, said Amy Gomberg, Environment Ohio spokeswoman. The list includes the cities of Conneaut and Ashtabula and a handful of industries, primarily plants in Ashtabula Township. Elkem, RMI Titanium, SCM Chemicals, Detrex Corp., Reserve Environmental Services, ESAB Welding Products, Occidental Chemicals and First Energy were among the companies on the list.
In all cases, permit violations affected either Lake Erie or Fields Brook, according to the report.
The number tied Ashtabula County with several other counties for 22nd on the list. Number one is Harris County, Texas, according to the report.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency allows a certain amount of discharge, at levels that pose no health threat, into waterways, Gomberg said. Those levels are detailed on each facility’s Clean Water Act permit. The report charted facilities that violated those allowable limits more than once during the target year.
Ohio led the nation in most permits exceeded between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 2005, followed by Pennsylvania, New York, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida.
Environment Ohio’s report coincided with the pending 35th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, designed to “restore and maintain the physical, chemical and biological integrity of the nation’s waters,” according to a statement.
The report, compiled from data obtained via the Freedom of Information Act, shows the country has a way to go, Gomberg said. “Water pollution is still a significant issue.” she said Friday.
The organization is throwing its support behind the Clean Water Restoration Act, which would tighten the nation’s water pollution regulations.
U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Bainbridge Township, sits on a Congressional committee hearing testimony on the measure, Gomberg said.
