Dirty Water: Federal Deregulation and the Re-Polluting of America

By

David Stradling

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Protesters in 2018 outside Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey’s office.

Pennsylvania Protesters

Protesters in 2018 outside Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey’s office rallying for environmental safeguards.

A 1902 lithograph shows the joining of the Alleghany River with the Monongahela River.

Three River Confluence

A 1902 lithograph shows the joining of the Alleghany River (left) with the Monongahela River (right) at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to form the Ohio River.

A storm drain emptying into California’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Urban Runoff

A storm drain emptying into California’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 2009.

A train loaded with waste from Utah’s Bingham Copper Mine.

Mine Waste

A train loaded with waste from Utah’s Bingham Copper Mine on top of the “G” bridge in 1942.

A 2017 rally to oppose EPA nominee Scott Pruitt.

Pruitt the Polluter

A 2017 rally to oppose EPA nominee Scott Pruitt.

Environmental Protection Agency scientists in 2009 surveying aquatic life.

EPA Scientists

Environmental Protection Agency scientists in 2009 surveying aquatic life in Newport, Oregon.

United States Gypsum ship.

Ship Hauling Coal

The ship, United States Gypsum, hauled coal on Lake Erie from 1940 to 1973.

The towboat, Donna York, pushs barges of coal up the Ohio River in 2009.

Coal Barge

The towboat, Donna York, pushs barges of coal up the Ohio River in 2009 near Louisville, Kentucky.

A 2018 painted storm drain in Richmond, Virginia.

Richmond Storm Drain

A 2018 painted storm drain in Richmond, Virginia, reminds the public that litter affects rivers and ecosystems.

A 1930 race on the Ohio River between two steamboats.

Steamboat Race

A 1930 race on the Ohio River between two steamboats - Betsy Ann and Tom Green.

A 2015 map of the Ohio River basin and surrounding interstate-basins.

Ohio River Basin

A 2015 map of the Ohio River basin and surrounding interstate-basins.

An 1850 portrait representing clothing and devices a woman and her dog use to ward off cholera.

Cholera-Prevention Woman

An 1850 portrait representing clothing and devices a woman and her dog use to ward off cholera.

The Bellevue Incline in Cincinnati, Ohio, transports two trolleys and a horse and wagon.

Bellevue Incline

The Bellevue Incline in Cincinnati, Ohio, transports two trolleys and a horse and wagon in 1910.

This is a 1944 article from the Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky.

Courier-Journal 1944

This 1944 article from the Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky, explains Pennsylvania and Virginia’s reluctance to sign an Ohio River sanitation agreement.

Detergent suds overflow from aeration tanks at the Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Southerly Aeration Tanks

Detergent suds overflow from aeration tanks at the Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant in Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio, in 1958. (Image courtesy of Special Collections, Cleveland State University Library.)

The Colorado River irrigates Southern California’s agricultural Imperial Valley.

Imperial Valley

The Colorado River irrigates Southern California’s agricultural Imperial Valley in 2007.

A 2018 map of the Colorado River drainage basin.

Colorado River Basin Map

A 2018 map of the Colorado River drainage basin

Lady Bird Johnson and others raft down the Snake River.

Lady Bird Johnson

Lady Bird Johnson and others raft down the Snake River in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park in 1964.

Republic Steel Corporation sprawls across 798 acres.

Republic Steel Corporation

Republic Steel Corporation sprawls across 798 acres on both sides of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio. (c.1953)

Mayor Carl Stokes holds a press conference on a charred railroad bridge in 1969.

Mayor Stokes’ Press Conference

Mayor Carl Stokes holds a press conference on a charred railroad bridge in 1969 after the Cuyahoga fire. (Image courtesy of Special Collections, Cleveland State University Library.)

A 1964 editorial cartoon about Cuyahoga River industrial pollution.

Cuyahoga River Cartoon

A 1964 editorial cartoon about Cuyahoga River industrial pollution. (Image courtesy of Special Collections, Cleveland State University Library.)

Aerial view of old cars secured along the banks of the Cuyahoga River.

Cuyahoga Cars

Aerial view of old cars secured along the banks of the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland to prevent erosion in 1975.

Brandywine Falls in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Brandywine Falls

Brandywine Falls in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio, in 2014.

Mayor Carl Stokes with Cleveland Utilities Director Ben Stefanski in 1969.

Edgewater Park Beach

Mayor Carl Stokes with Cleveland Utilities Director Ben Stefanski in 1969 with kids at Edgewater Park Beach. (Image courtesy of Special Collections, Cleveland State University Library.)

This 2019 NASA image of Lake Erie near Maumee Bay, Ohio.

Algal Bloom

This 2019 NASA image of Lake Erie near Maumee Bay, Ohio, shows a severe bloom of blue-green algal.

A hog farm in 2012.

Hog Farm

A hog farm in 2012.

A cow in front of a manure pile in 2012.

Animal Waste

A cow in front of a manure pile in 2012.

After heavy rain, farm fertilizers and topsoil run off farm fields in 1999.

Fertilizer Runoff

After heavy rain, farm fertilizers and topsoil run off farm fields in 1999.

Sculpture of Donald Trump ripping up the Paris climate agreement.

Baby Trump Sculpture

Greenpeace paraded this sculpture of Donald Trump ripping up the Paris climate agreement at the 2017 G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany.

Ohio’s National Guard distributes water during Toledo’s water crisis.

Toledo Water Crisis

Ohio’s National Guard distributes water during Toledo’s water crisis in August 2014.

Infographic shows statistical facts about the Ohio River in 2015.

Ohio River Infographic

Infographic shows statistical facts about the Ohio River in 2015.

A 1952 fire on the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio.

Cuyahoga River Fire

A 1952 fire on the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio. (Image courtesy of Special Collections, Cleveland State University Library.)

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Cite this Site

David Stradling , "Dirty Water: Federal Deregulation and the Re-Polluting of America" , Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective

February, 2020

https://origins.osu.edu/index.php/article/dirty-water-federal-deregulation-trump-pollution.