The following is a summary of a New York Times article:
Clean Water Laws Are Neglected, at a Cost in Sufferring: September 12th, 2009

Also see the series: Toxic Waters

Video: Toxic Waters: Coal in the Water

In some places it’s as bad as any third world country. According to a study published last year Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, “an Estimated 19.5 million Americans fall ill each year from drinking water contaminated with parasites, bacteria or viruses,” but that figure does not include illnesses caused by other chemicals and toxins. Some industries have so badly ignored clean water standards that nearby residents are losing teeth, and possibly even dying as a result from the contaminants. The sources of many illnesses are difficult to trace, but there’s no question that high levels of heavy metals and other pollutants is linked to cancer, birth defects and neurological disorders. The Environmental Protection Agency has declined to intervene in more than 97% of these cases due to what it calls “inadequate funds”; the inaction is baffling when the agency could stand to bring in billions of dollars in fines. One EPA worker who wished to remain anonymous for fear of being fired said that the agency is outmanned and overwhelmed, and that’s exactly how the industry wants it. The comparisons to a third world country are validated with these descriptions of corporate corruption and lack of worker rights. Another EPA official (also wishing to remain anonymous for fear of retribution) said that during the eight years of President Bush, his hands have been tied. “Everyone knew polluters were getting away with murder,” he is quoted as saying, “but these polluters are some of the biggest campaign contributors in town, so no one really cared if they were dumping poisons into streams.” Perhaps more telling of the corporate agenda being President Bush’s castration of the EPA is the fact none of the administrators from the last eight years — Christine Todd Whitman, Michael O. Leavitt and Stephen L. Johnson — were willing to comment.

The New York Times has put together a comprehensive database compiled from documents obtained from the Freedom of Information Act. You can now search for infractions of the Clean Water Act by zip code.

Sometimes the concentrations of toxins were exceeded legal limits by as much as 1,000 percent. Most of the large industries involved, e.g. Remington Coal, declined to comment or stated that the practices were “normal.” The industries involved can exert enormous pressure on lawyers, politicians, and EPA testers. After one spill in West Virginia, Matthew Crum, a 43-year-old lawyer with the EPA, talked about meeting one of their inspectors at the spill site, and Mr. Crum advocated shutting down the mine until the spill could be cleaned up. The inspector agreed, but he was scared of getting demoted or transferred to the middle of nowhere. Apparently, everyone was terrified of doing their job. Mr. Crum’s eagerness to do his job brought the ire of the industry and their powerful connections in politics. One of West Virginia’s most powerful state lawmakers, Eustace Frederick, was said to be confirmed only upon the condition that she agreed to fire Mr. Crum. She was given the job and soon fired Mr. Crum.

Whether or not anything will change remains to be seen. The proof is in the water.

The sparse rainfall nationwide has made 2009 the driest in 69 years of government record-keeping. Read more about Mexico’s Drought.