...until someone called.
I’m feeling a bit good about myself today. Because I was the person who called. And then called another number and a couple more numbers. And then sent some emails. And then made another call or two. A couple of days ago, I started with a couple of calls, trying to find online, the number I see on all the construction site signs around town that says “To report runoff at this site, call 202-xxx-xxxx”. I ended up hanging out in a couple of phone trees and finding a couple of people in city government who were pretty sure I had to contact someone else. Then yesterday, I made some progress. Found the right person along with their cell phone number. Didn’t get to speak to him, but close, right? I least I’m leaving a messages in the proper voicemail box place, right?. The 311 operator was also helpful.
Then I called the EPA. If you see or suspect oil or other pollution leaking into a waterway, call the EPA first. They do not mess around. And yes, you can remain anonymous. The person who answered took a report, emailed me a copy and within 30 minutes, I had not one, but two, follow calls for more details. One to get specifics on the nature of the incident and another from Baltimore Coast Guard confirming the relationship of this waterway to the surrounding waterways and confirming that it does indeed drain into the Potomac.
This is not a healthy stream
Oh, yeah, why was calling exactly? Because in the little (but year-round and not rain-dependent) stream that runs behind my building, I had noticed a rainbow sheen, some foamy orange-ish brown scum, and pools of dark red that made me think “That looks like a home heating oil spill.” Oh, and smelled like diesel even from two floors up. Also, the apartment building on the other side of this little stream had recently been doing work on and around the huge oil storage tank between the building and the stream.
As I was giving my report to the EPA, a couple of people from the city came out. They were nice. They took a few pics. I didn’t really get to chat with them because I was about 30 yards away on a second floor across from the polluted little stream. They did let me know that they were going to talk to management and try to figure out what was going on. Not super satisfying, but baby steps, I suppose. I was kinda expecting some one with rubber boots and a little case of vials to take samples and such. Too much TV for me, it seems.
By the end of the day I updated the City Council office for my ward, as well as the neighborhood sub-ward committee and even got my call returned from the environmental guy from the National Park Service from the National Park where this sad little stream passes through between my block and the Potomac. Oh, and the environmental consultants for the building management company threw a couple of absorbent booms 3 or 4 absorbent pads down into the stream by the end of the day. Between the anemic ground response and a few generic “we are looking into...in contact with… working with so-and-so”” responses from a few parties I thought would be more energized, I was a bit underwhelmed by the day’s progess. I feared that since this wasn’t Exxon Valdez scale, it would fall through the cracks.
This morning however, there was a bit more activity behind my apartment from the environmental consultant with the offending building. There was even a backhoe, which I found promising for a sec, and then worrisome when I realized there was no city or fed presence. After I texted the right guy about the backhoe (which in all fairness had not started doing any backhoe kinda stuff yet) there were soon a few city folks there. Then more people from the environment company from the building. Then a truck to pump out the tank. Soon, there were lots of absorbent things in the stream, there was a confirmation that they had investigated the site where it discharges into the National Park and that step one was a termination of the leak coupled with local spill control. And at least one more truck to pump out the very big tank.
I was feeling that I did good. A little smug about my tenacity and perseverance. Then one person down at the site that I was chatting with shouted up to me on my back deck that the leak had been going on since March with the knowledge of either the building management or the contractors hired by the building management to do the work on the tank. I then felt a little less awesome. I should have noticed it earlier. Even worse, did I notice it earlier and brush it aside telling myself “it’s probably just parking lot runoff” or “well, that’s just an urban stream for you”? And that’s fine. Perfection is an ideal. I didn’t save the world, but I did okay. I did a little bit of good in my little corner of my city. And the mess is less and is coming to a close. With a few more phone calls and emails, maybe even the people responsible will held accountable.
So, to co-opt a line from Homeland Security: “If you see something, say something.”
That little creek has a pretty busy little pedestrian path next to it. Someone walking on it even commented to me how stinky it was. I am not the only one lucky enough to have a back deck looking out over the stream. For two months, none of us called. It’s easy to miss things. Don;t assume someone else has it covered.
More importantly, don;t assume that nothing will be done. It may take a couple of calls and an email or two, but there are people that work for you that want to fix things. I’ll admit, it may a take a little bit to find them. They might even need a little nudging. But the sad little stream behind my apartment will be less sad soon. And to save you some hassle, Ill say it again. Start with the EPA.
EPA National Response Center 1-800-424-8802
It is staffed by humans 24 hours a day.
UPDATE: Sunday, May 12, 2024 · 2:13:32 PM +00:00 · netop
First, thanks to all for the positive comments and recs. Being this visible , i feel it is my responsibility to update this diary in the spirit of clarity and utility.
I want to highlight a few comments by mashing them together and paraphrasing them. For me, this past week, the EPA was the the body that stood out in my eyes for efficiency and focus and a general “not messing around” vibe. But others have pointed out in the comments that regional water boards, state-wide agencies and local agencies are also staffed by people who give a crap and are dedicated to the mission of protecting our waters. So, IMHO, do call the EPA. It starts a record and a paper trail with an agency that is connected to your state* and local offices.
However, as pointed out in the comments, I got lucky with this, because that little unnamed stream that connects to a creek that eventually finds its way into the Potomac, and apparently the EPA got nerfed a bit by a shit-ball SCOTUS ruling that limits the EPA’s scope to water that is part of, or connected to navigable waters.** I would still argue that they are a good first call because it is so quick and easy.
Then call whoever seems to be the responsible agency for your state, county or city. It might be a state DEM (Dept of Environmental Management) or a state DOEE (Dept of Energy and Environment) or some other name. This might take a couple tries. Water dept here seems pretty much only into water that people can drink (or in the case of DC: water that people SHOULD be able to drink). I was referred to the building dept and the fire department along the way. When I got to the DOEE, it still took a little minute. They also deal with energy assistance, gas leaks, and stuff like that so the phone tree can be a might oak covered in kudzu. Thought I hit gold at one point because I figured the desk that handled soil erosion at jobsites would probably also be handy in things other than soil running into waterways. Nope. Finally, I left a message at the right number.
Now there is absolutely the possibility that leaving a message with the soil erosion desk may have worked out. Might of even had luck with someone at the water dept if they weren’t also dealing with a water main break and a boil water alert in the adjacent neighborhood that same day. My point is that these agencies and departments are full of people that my have a bit too much on their plates that day. Some may be on vacation. Or stuck in a day-long professional development retreat on the day that you notice something in your little corner of the world that needs attention ASAP. So, no harm in leaving an extra message or two.
Also, don’t underestimate 311 (or similar) system in your area. Yeah, likely another phone tree (can you tell I’m not in love in with phone trees?), but when I did get to a human, she seemed interested in connecting my concerns with the right people even though she did not have that detail at her fingertips. She asked me to email a narrative and photos directly to her and that she would direct it to the right person. My cynical self was pleasantly surprised. This person’s job is to help people like me navigate all the departments, agencies, branches and boards of my local government. Neato.
Finally, connect with someone else who gives a crap and might have some yank (or at least familiarity with) with the responsible agency or department . Again, easy call for me this time, because this leak was affecting National Park Services land. But I think it could be helpful to have a “Friends of XYZ park” or a “[Insert Cardinal Direction Here] Side Citizens Assoc.” to make sure that things do not fall through the cracks or get lost in the shuffle. They can also help keep it on the radar of you council member or similar, local elected official, (who should at least be cc’ed on some of you correspondence, if not given a forwarded copy of something you’ve sent or received). This may sound like a lot, but the EPA report I got within minutes of that first call took two minutes to send to my council office with a note that just said “this is happening”.
So, thanks for the visibility (I wrote the original post because I I couldn’t get any local media to bite on it), thanks for the thumbs up (thumbs ups with an “s”?) and many thanks for the helpful and informative comments.
Here are a couple of comment threads that have state level info that might be useful for folks depending on where they live:
www.dailykos.com/…
www.dailykos.com/...
* This only applies to you if you are lucky enough to be a US citizen that lives in a US state with things like congressional representation and the ability to call up the National Guard if there is a violent mob rampaging through your streets hellbent on overthrowing the government. But that is another story.
**Shout out to the person from Baltimore Coast Guard who worked with me for twenty minutes to establish that the little steam behind my building did indeed connect to the Potomac. He was basically on google maps as I described what was obscured by trees on sat view and sent him the GPS of where it discharged to connect with something he could finally see. Now I understand.
