 On Wednesday, December 19, 2007, Friends of
Milwaukee's Rivers, though its attorneys at Midwest Environmental Advocates,
sent a notice of intent to sue under the Clean Water Act to Fontarome Chemical,
Inc. in response to their dumping of excessive amounts of toxic and
cancer-causing chemicals into the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District sewer
system. This is a problem for area waters because MMSD's system is not designed
to remove these toxic chemicals, and relies upon companies like Fontarome to not
release them into the system.
"Fontarome has violated its Clean Water Act permit
almost 500 times since at least June of 2002, " stated Melissa K. Scanlan,
Founder and Senior Counsel, Midwest Environmental Advocates. "This illegal water
pollution needs to be stopped."
Public records show that Fontarome has exceeded its
permit limitations for a variety of harmful substances, including mercury,
ammonia, toluene, and chloroform. MMSD, responsible for issuing Clean Water Act
permits for facilities that discharge into its treatment works, has placed
Fontarome on their list of entities in "Significant Non-Compliance" with the
Clean Water Act multiple times, including in 2006 and 2007.
Friends of Milwaukee's Rivers is concerned that
Fontarome's excessive chemical discharges will negatively affect rivers and
streams, degrading aquatic habitat and posing a threat to human health.
"Fontarome is handling dangerous chemicals without any technology in place to
reduce toxic loads into our shared waters," said MFR's Milwaukee
Riverkeeper® Cheryl Nenn. "We're bringing legal
action today to protect our waterways, drinking water, and public health from
further toxic abuses." The full press release may be found at the Friends of
Milwaukee's Rivers' website .
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