PennEnvironment, Sierra Club File Suit Against PPG

PennEnvironment of Philadelphia and Sierra Club of San Francisco have filed a suit against PPG Industries of Pittsburgh and the Borough of Ford City, Pa. alleging that the company violated the Clean Water Act and Clean Streams Law by discharging chemicals in the Allegheny River from one its glass plants in Ford City. The

"From approximately 1950 to 1970, PPG Industries pumped waste via a pipe system from its Works Number 5 glass manufacturing plant in Ford City, Pa., across the Allegheny River into an area that PPG formerly used as sandstone quarry," reads a

The groups allege that the contaminated leachate from the lagoons seeps through fissures in the cliff face and goes into the Allegheny River.

"... The slurry waste in the lagoons and the leachate that emerges from the lagoons contain high levels of contaminants, including arsenic, chromium, lead, manganese, copper, zinc, mercury, ... and semi-volatile organic compounds," continues the exhibit filed by the plaintiffs. "The lagoons and leachate are also highly caustic, with pH levels reaching as high as 12.69."

The plaintiffs further allege that "... the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has concluded that the slurry waste discharges 'pose a significant threat to public health and the environment.'"

Jeremy Neuhart, manager of corporate public relations at PPG, advised USGNN.com™ that the allegations are without merit. "PPG has met with counsel for the plaintiffs and has provided them with extensive information about the work PPG has performed to address the conditions at the property that is the subject of the lawsuit, and the Pennsylvania DEP-approved schedule for PPG to develop a final plan for the property," he says. "Although the plaintiffs filed a lawsuit, they have also proposed to hold the litigation in abeyance until after PPG submits its final plan to DEP."

According to a