The non-profit Three Rivers Waterkeeper, represented by Appalachian Mountain Advocates, has sent a 60-day notice to Neville Chemical of its intent to sue the company for violating its water pollution permit nearly 9,500 times.
“We just want our industries to not pollute our drinking water sources and not pollute critical habitat for our plants and animals,” said Waterkeeper executive director Heather Hulton VanTassel.
After receiving complaints about intense smells around Neville Island, along the Ohio River near Pittsburgh, the Waterkeeper group couldn’t identify the source. “It’s really hard on the Ohio River to document if we find something in the riverway where exactly it’s coming from, just because there are a lot of industries that do discharge into that region,” she said.
So, they started analyzing self-reported water discharge data from permitted facilities in southwestern Pennsylvania submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Of the 69 facilities the group included in its analysis, many had permit violations, but Neville Chemical, which makes adhesives and sealants, stood out as one of the worst offenders, according to Hulton VanTassel.
“That’s when we uncovered their consistent exceedances of a variety of different contaminants, including some hydrocarbons, into our waterways that exceeded what they were allowed to put into the waterway,” she said.
According to Hulton VanTassel, the company’s Neville Island plant exceeded its permit limits for hydrocarbons, such as benzene, as well as pH, total suspended solids, and oil and grease.
A river watchdog tracks pollution violations at a chemical plant
The Ohio River is a drinking water source for five million people. “So we’re impacting drinking water supply, not just for us, but for everyone downstream,” she said.
According to the Waterkeeper’s notice to the company, Neville Chemical’s own data revealed as many as “9,494 days of violations since July 2021.”
“Each time they violate a particular contaminant is considered a violation day,” Hulton VanTassel explained.
She said that if the DEP had taken enforcement action against the company, the Waterkeeper would not be legally allowed to step in. “But there was no notice of violation and enforcement action,” she said. “And that’s why we’re able to step in using the Clean Water Act.”
Neither the DEP nor Neville Chemical responded to requests for comment. They have two months to respond to the Waterkeeper’s notice of intent to sue.
“We’re not doing this because we’re anti-industry,” Hulton VanTassel said. “We just want to see change, and one step at a time at each facility that we work on.”
“Ultimately, we have the right to clean water, both federally and in the state of Pennsylvania,” she added.
