Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Legal pollution of the Great Lakes. Hearing before the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Second Congress, First Session, October 4, 1991

Book ·
OSTI ID:5176962
The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and representatives of various environmental groups were among those testifying at a hearing on federal programs to protect and restore the Great Lakes. EPA has requested and gotten $19 million in new funds earmarked for Great Lakes programs. In 1990, there were discharges into the Great Lakes of seven million gallons of oil,89,000 pounds of lead, 1,900 pounds of PCBs, and 1,000 pounds of mercury. These figures are for toxics which were dumped legally by permit. They do not include illegal discharges or discharges from non-point sources such as runoff or air pollution, and they do not include Canadian discharges. The GAO has found that restrictions that exist in Great Lakes permits have been poorly enforced. The GAO reports that 84% of the major dischargers violated their permits at least once during an 18-month period, with almost 20% of them guilty of longstanding, serious violations.
OSTI ID:
5176962
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English