Ocean Group Flushed With Wastewater Concerns
Clean Ocean Action wants stricter standards for treating wastewater before it
An ocean advocacy group claimed Wednesday that the state fails to adequately monitor and limit the release of toxins into the ocean from sewage treatment plants along the coast, possibly harming marine life.
A three-year investigation by Clean Ocean Action found that the state Department of Environmental Protection has no standards for the majority of toxics that are piped a third of a mile to 1.5 miles offshore. Testing for other pollutants can be as infrequent as every five years, while a handful are tested daily.
The 17 treatment plants along the shore annually pump about 65 billion gallons of wastewater into the ocean through 14 outfall pipes, said Cindy Zipf, the group