U.S. Water News Online
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The Alabama Department of Environmental Management has proposed a more strict standard for water pollution permits in a move aimed at reducing the level of cancer-causing chemicals in the state's lakes and streams.
The proposal would allow a cancer risk of 1 in 1 million people, down from the current level of 1 in 100,000, for almost all of the state's waterways.
The state Environmental Management Commission will vote on the proposal after a period for public comment and a hearing March 19 in the ADEM building in Montgomery.
David Ludder, a former ADEM lawyer who now represents environmental activist groups, said some were surprised in December when the commission announced it had begun the process to set a tougher standard.
"I think it is unusual," Ludder told The Birmingham News. "But I think they were faced with a situation where the evidence clearly suggested that making this change would reduce the risk of cancer."
He said no one produced much evidence that the change would cause an economic burden on any group.
River advocates, environmentalists and health groups have been asking the state to tighten water quality standards for most of ADEM's 25-year history. The department usually hasn't responded unless federal law or a court loss required the change.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows states to choose between the 1 in 100,000 and 1 in 1 million standard.
The proposed rule would apply to all of the state's waterways except those in such poor condition they aren't suitable for fish and wildlife. There are fewer than 200 miles of such streams statewide.
The commission's proposed rule would apply to 57 carcinogens that Alabama plants put into rivers, creeks and lakes. One cancer-causing chemical, arsenic, was left out, but Alabama already has a tougher arsenic standard than most states, the newspaper said.
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