COLUMBIA, Tenn. (CN) - An aluminum processing company and a Tennessee city face federal lawsuits accusing them of polluting local waters. The Association Concerned Over Resources and Nature claims Tennessee Aluminum Processors and the city of Mount Pleasant released waste or toxins into nearby Quality Creek or its tributaries.
ACORN says Tennessee Aluminum has allowed ammonia and chlorine to leach into the public water treatment system and pollute a Quality Creek tributary since 1989. The group claims testing confirmed the presence of the toxins.
The chemicals allegedly come from an open dump of aluminum slag waste, which in 2001 was estimated to hold more than 100,000 cubic yards of slag.
In its second lawsuit, ACORN says Mount Pleasant polluted local waters by allowing overflows from its sewage treatment system, including from lagoons and spray ponds.
The state environmental agency has repeatedly notified the city of water pollution violations, according to the complaint.
In both cases, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has lagged on enforcement, ACORN says, even though both parties are violating the Clean Water Act.
ACORN, represented in both cases by Gary Davis of Hot Springs, N.C., seeks an injunction stopping the alleged pollution, along with statutory fines and legal costs.
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