PPG Industries has been fined $1.2 million for using the Allegheny River for 50 years as what amounts to a toxic glass waste dump. The settlement is the result of a nearly decadelong lawsuit, the resolution of which includes the construction and maintenance of a water treatment system. This decision hits the nail on the head, as it compels the company to actually clean up its mess.

Corporations have demonstrated repeatedly that they do not respect Western Pennsylvania’s waterways or residents. While the PPG decision is a win for environmental groups and residents, the fact that it took nearly 10 years to prevail against the company is demoralizing and demands change.

Elected officials should insist on more from corporate citizens who go awry of environmental rules. Companies found guilty of polluting should be forced to take ownership of sections of waterways in the future and they should pay damages. They must acknowledge their duty to society and the environment.

Years of weak regulations and lengthy fights in the legal system are on the side of pollution. Over the course of years, numerous other companies have been caught polluting Pittsburgh’s river systems, and the list of polluters even includes public systems such as the Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill and Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority.

This is both an old problem and a current one.

A 2018 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision made it more difficult to assess civil penalties in pollution cases, as the court determined that current law didn’t demand penalties for waterways polluted after the initial spill or leak was contained and cleaned. It is time for tougher regulations and stronger penalties for willful polluting, including ongoing restitution and decontamination.

An April report by the advocacy organization PennFuture found that nearly a third of Pennsylvania’s stream miles are polluted and that cleanup efforts are underfunded. It held that policy changes at the legislative level like increased funding and agricultural assistance programs are needed to address this ongoing issue.

Pittsburgh’s waterways are part of the city’s identity. They are the lifeblood of the region. It is outrageous that nearly 50 years after the passage of the Clean Water Act, companies can dump pollutants and contaminants into rivers that are used by residents for recreation and other corporations for commerce.

Simple cleanups and civil penalties aren’t sufficient deterrents. State lawmakers should tighten rules and regulations to demand appropriate and swift penance moving forward, and the courts should work to adjudicate such cases with speed and with punitive damages high enough to be a deterrent.

First Published: May 19, 2021, 4:00 a.m.