Connecticut Company Fined for Dumping into River

An aerospace systems manufacturer in Connecticut has agreed to pay more than $12 million in fines for two counts of violating the Clean Water Act. Hamilton Sundstrand, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, discharged both chromium and copper into the Farmington River beyond the amount permitted by the EPA. The Farmington River supplies water to over one million residents in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Hamilton Sundstrand admitted to discharging toxic releases in excess of what the company is permitted to release after treatment in the on-site wastewater treatment facility. Even more disturbing is that the company frequently omitted or altered the amount of release in reports submitted to both the state of Connecticut and the Federal Government's regulatory oversight, provided by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Hamilton Sundstrand also revealed that the company released a chelated copper solution into the wastewater treatment system, which overflowed and then released the contaminated water directly into the Farmington River over the Labor Day weekend in 2003. The company did not notify the proper authorities and when a water analysis was completed, the level of copper exceeded the permitted limit by more than seven times the safe amount. The company confirmed that the amount of discharge was in the tens of thousands of gallons, according to the Environmental News Service.

Hamilton Sundstrand is to pay one million dollars in direct fines for the toxic releases, and will also have to comply with other costs levied by the EPA. Three million dollars will be contributed to the state of Connecticut's Supplemental Environmental Programs (SEP) to increase funding for ecosystem management and Farmington River Basin restoration. That money will also help develop an electronic information system to monitor data for compliance with both the Clean Water and Air Acts.

The company will also be expected to install new systems to eliminate all wastewater discharges into the Farmington River. The new systems are estimated to cost Hamilton Sundstrand over $5 million, and if the costs come out to be less than that, the savings will also be donated to the SEP. Furthermore, the company will be on probation for the next five years, and will be regularly monitored by both the EPA and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.

Chromium compounds are considered potential carcinogens by the Center for Disease Control. Chromates have been linked to lung cancer, and also skin and respiratory irritation. Chromium is also being studied for effects on the liver and kidneys. In a well-known case, it was hexavalent chromium that was in the drinking water in California that Erin Brokovich campaigned against.

Copper is considered among the highest ten per cent of dangerous chemicals, according to Scorecard.org. It is especially dangerous due to its persistence. Though small amounts of copper are needed by organisms, there is a limit to its safety level in drinking water. Both copper and chromium are monitored by the EPA in drinking water, under the safe Drinking Water Act.