Upper Potomac Riverkeeper Brent Walls’s campaign to clean up toxic “black liquor” emanating from Luke, MD, Verso papermill is now one in the “win” column for him — and for the river. Through some innovative sleuthing with his drone and plain old fashioned persistence, and thanks to top flight legal representation by our friends at … Read More
CAMPAIGN INFORMATION: Washington, D.C. – November 19 – Potomac Riverkeeper Network (PRKN) today filed a Notice of Intent to Sue (NOI) Verso Corporation, owner of the now-closed Luke, Maryland paper mill, for the ongoing unlawful discharges of a toxic waste called “black liquor” into the North Branch of the Upper Potomac River. Black liquor is … Read More
CAMPAIGN INFORMATION: Shenandoah Valley Clean Water Collaboration Creating a Smart, Green, and Economically Prosperous Watershed Potomac Riverkeeper Network has obtained a $100,000 grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust to develop a Shenandoah Valley “Green Vision” through the use of expanded collaborative forums in the Valley that will be focused on increasing wildlife habitat and biodiversity; … Read More
CAMPAIGN INFORMATION: EPA’s 2015 “Effluent Limitation Guideline” Rule was developed to deal with the discharge of toxic metals and other pollutants removed from coal plants’ air emissions in response to more protective air pollution standards issued over a decade ago. The same metals that were being “scrubbed” from coal plant smokestacks were being dumped with … Read More
CAMPAIGN INFORMATION: EPA issued a lifetime health advisory (LHA) in 2016 that gave a limit of 70 parts per trillion for PFOS and PFOAs, two chemicals commonly used in firefighting foam and sometimes found in drinking water. While this advisory does not set legally enforceable standards, it is typically used by public water utilities to … Read More
CAMPAIGN INFORMATION: PROJECT UPDATE: Virginia lawmakers have approved legislation to require the state’s largest electric utility to excavate and clean up unlined coal ash pits. The General Assembly approved legislation that requires Dominion Energy to recycle or safely landfill millions of cubic yards of coal ash currently located at sites around the state. Gov. Ralph Northam is … Read More
CAMPAIGN INFORMATION: In 2013, Potomac Riverkeeper, Patuxent Riverkeeper and Food & Water Watch filed a notice of intent to sue to NRG. NRG operates coal powered generating stations at Chalk Point on the Patuxent River and at Dickerson on the Potomac River. One of our main concerns was that NRG tried to persuade the state … Read More
Facilities in West Virginia that discharge pollution into the [Maryland-owned] Potomac River often follow much weaker standards than their Maryland counterpart. For example, many permits do not require daily monitoring for TMDLS’s (total maximum discharge limits), allowing much higher amounts of pollutants to enter the water as would otherwise be considered a violation of water … Read More
UPRC operates under permits which allow for discharges that exceed normal TMDL’s (a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards) through the use of “mixing zones”. UPRC’s mixing zones emit discharges directly into a section of the river commonly used for cold water … Read More
In 2014, our attorneys at Environmental Integrity Project filed a lawsuit against the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) for illegal discharges of millions of pounds aluminum and Total Suspended Solids exceeding permitted limits. On October 21, 2015, WSSC elected to enter into a binding legal agreement with Potomac Riverkeeper, the State of Maryland and Chesapeake Bay … Read More
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