Fort Wayne Refutes Kirk's Claim Of Being Worst Great Lakes Polluter
By Chuck Sudo in News on Sep 19, 2012 5:50PM
Officials of Fort Wayne, Ind. are disputing claims from Sen. Mark Kirk's office that the Indiana Town is the worst polluter of the Great Lakes.
A June 26 video from Kirk's office titled "Great Lakes Dirty Dozen" (which we've embedded below) contends the Indiana town dumps an estimated 7.5 billion gallons into tributaries that led to Lake Erie. Fort Wayne City Utilities program manager Justin Brugger called the claims from Kirk "patently false" and that the numbers were off by, oh, about 6.5 billion gallons.
"The information in (the video) clearly wasn't verified because it's just absurd," Brugger told The News-Sentinel.According to Brugger, the city dumps about 1 billion gallons of sewage and storm water into the Maumee, St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers each year, with that total projected to drop by 90 percent through 2025 under a $240 million plan negotiated between the city and Environmental Protection Agency.
Still, one billion gallons is still huge, especially since dumping it leads directly to the largest collection of fresh water on the planet. The Great Lakes already has enough problems with pollution and water quality.
Fort Wayne City Council members believe Kirk's office produced the video to help promote the Great Lakes Water Protection Act. The bill, co-sponsored with Sen. Dick Durbin, would impose heavy fines on cities that dump waste into the Great Lakes and its tributaries. Fort Wayne officials are concerned the video could negatively impact how businesses and people looking to relocate to the town view it.