Earth Designs News

Missouris Water Under Attack!

The Mississippi and Missouri are the two longest rivers in the United States with both of them meeting in Missouri. This may lead one to believe our drinking water won’t be under much threat. In reality Missouri ‘s water supply is under a multi-threat attack posed by industry, agriculture, and an unconcerned lackadaisical infrastructure at both federal and state levels.

The National Cancer Institute defines a carcinogen as “Any substance that causes cancer.” One carcinogen, mercury, is allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in drinking water as long as it is equal or less than two parts per million. Though this number may seem insignificantly small the fact remains mercury can cause cancer as well as inducing negative side effects in Missouri’s water and the aquatic life that inhabits it. 90% of fish in Missouri contain mercury. Children and women who are nursing or pregnant are advised by the state not to eat fish caught in Missouri at all. If that is the case then why should anyone eat fish or drink water from Missouri if it contains mercury?

Nearly all of the electricity for Missouri is produced by coal fire power plants. The break down of coal in this process results in mercury particulate matter released in the air, which eventually ends up in the water. The demand on electricity is projected to double globally by the year 2025, in turn doubling the amount of mercury in the water.

Seven of Missouri’s cement factories emitted over 1,500 pounds of mercury from 2000 to 2002 and out of the nation’s top 26 most polluting cement factories, Missouri made the list three times. The EPA refused to regulate cement pollution stating there wasn’t enough scientific proof it was necessary. Finally in March of 2008, after four court orders, the EPA was forced to implement these violations against the clean water and air act made by cement plants.

Agricultural effluence from Missouri is not only a concern here, but its effects are felt down the Mississippi River and all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. The run off of phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers washes into the surrounding water bodies joining the run off from the other nine state’s bordering the Mississippi, totaling 1.5 metric tons per year. Now an area the size of New Jersey, where the Mississippi joins the Gulf of Mexico, is known as the Dead Zone where only bacteria and algae can survive.

This abuse of fertilizers is financed through subsides by the state government. The U.S. Geological Survey found the places where fertilizers are funded the most are also the counties who are doing the most polluting. Missouri ranked as the 11th highest subsidizing state in the country, spending $6.16 million dollars from 1995-2006. Funding fertilizers is directly funding the destruction of our environment from here all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

Missouri has 451 confined animal feeding operations holding over a 1,000 animals each. The waste produced by these animals is disposed of three ways: a man-made lagoon is dug to dump the entirety of the waste in or it is spread over fields as a “fertilizer” or it is illegally dumped In both instances rain will wash the run-off into drinking water contaminating it with pathogens and fecal matter. One pig CAFO can produce as much waste as the entire city of St. Louis, but unlike the city there is no wastewater treatment facilities surrounding CAFOs. Since the early 1990’s the state has been bending law to allow multinational corporations in forcing small farmers out of business. 17 of the largest CAFOs are multiple offenders of the Clean Water Act, with out being reprimanded. Currently 150 miles of steams are contaminated and in a 14-year period over a half a million fish have been killed. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is responsible for CAFO monitoring and issuing permit, but funding has been cut resulting in an unregulated market.

All of the Missouri’s water pollution dilemmas have one thing in common; they are all easily, inexpensively solved. The real battle will take place in capital city where getting legislation passed will prove to be the most difficult. Organizations like the Missouri Coalition for the Environment and Missouri Votes Conservation are the only real agencies in the state fighting for the health of the environment. Both receive zero government funding for doing the tax-funded jobs of the EPA and DNR for them. Both the MCE and MVC need your help saving our state! Writing your state representatives, staying up to date on bills in Jeff City and/or donating and becoming a member to one of these organizations goes a long, long way. Please visit them online to find out more at www.moenviron.org.

By Catina Ponticello - for Independent Project with Professor Jeff DePew, Webster University.