Birmingham, Alabama auto parts company Kamtek, Inc. has now reached a settlement with Black Warrior Riverkeeper. The company self-reported water pollution violations last year for discharging waste water polluted with heavy metals into the Five Mile Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Jefferson County. Black Warrior Riverkeeper filed a notice of intent to sue Kamtek in March 2022 over the violations. The Clean Water Act allows any private citizen or group to sue polluters for violations, but requires a formal 60-day notice in advance of the lawsuit. Kamtek reached out in advance of the 60-day time limit and sought to work to resolve the violations out of court. They plan to implement additional water treatment processes, equipment, and staff. They will invest an initial $530,000 to improve its water treatment and monitoring capabilities and commit to spending an ongoing $580,000 per year to pay for increased staffing and water testing. Kamtek will also provide $62,000 for a Supplemental Environmental Project for Five Mile Creek to be implemented by the Freshwater Land Trust, and reimburse Black Warrior Riverkeeper $15,000 in attorney fees.

Also this month, a coalition of 13 environmental groups that include Alabama groups Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Tennessee Riverkeeper filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency claiming that the EPA maintains inadequate and antiquated rules for water pollution produced from industries like oil refineries and chemical manufacturing plants. The lawsuit cites two Alabama chemical factories, Ascend Performance Materials Operations LLC and Indorama Ventures Xylenes and PTA LLC, both located in Decatur, Alabama on the Tennessee River. The lawsuit argues that the EPA’s water pollution limits for these industries are out of date and do not do enough to protect rivers and streams as required by the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act requires that pollution limits and required controls be kept up to date and in line with modern standards. The lawsuit argues that the rules for these industries have not been updated since the 1980s, and that newer pollution control technology is available. A copy of the coalition's lawsuit against the EPA can be found here.