Janet Reno's Huck Finn Project

Federal prosecutor Charles Grace describes the Mississippi River as "...probably one of the top two or three great resources this country has physically...But we have used this resource in modern times in a way that has degraded it." It is now often unsafe to swim in or eat fish from much of the world's third-longest waterway, and the habitats that the river basin provides for birds and animals from the Allegheny Mountains in the east to the Black Hills in the west are fast disappearing. Environmentalists also believe pollution from the Mississippi River has caused a 7.000 mi dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico (See Dead Zone Grows). Such concerns prompted Grace - who oversees federal cases in Illinois' 38 southernmost counties - to work to reverse the tide of pollution. To do so, he pulled together people from many levels of government: the USEPA, state environmental agencies, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Cost Guard and other U.S. attorneys: and over the past two years has gone after polluters throughout the Mississippi River Basin. The federal Mississippi River Initiative - or Attorney General Janet Reno's "Huck Finn" Project, as it is affectionately known - has produced dozens of criminal convictions and millions of dollars in civil penalties and restitution.

Polluters have been caught dumping raw sewage and industrial waste into the river and its tributaries, destroying nearby wetlands, even emitting toxic chemicals into the air that could turn into acid rain and harm the water. The accused included: an oil refinery in Chicago's south suburbs; another in Roxanna, IL' the city-owned wastewater treatment plant in Youngstown, OH: a concrete company in CO; a truck driver in LA; a hog farm in IA; and a riverboat casino in St. Louis, MO.

But dedicated Mississippi River watchers - including those responsible for the program - also recognize their limited ability to make a huge dent in how dirty the river system is. The most significant source of the water's ills is runoff from farms, construction and residential areas. That type of pollution is not regulated by the Clean Water Act. And since the agencies involved - which already are financially strained - get virtually no new money, they cannot handle many of the complex, science-heavy cases. Instead, they've picked the most egregious examples and hoped the ensuing publicity makes potential polluters think twice.

In the intensified effort's first year, 142 cases were filed, resulting in $28.9 million in penalties and restitution. By 9/98, there were 54 criminal convictions, as well as 18 civil actions and 93 administrative cases brought by the USEPA. Since then, there have been 14 new civil actions, bringing in another $52.9 million in fines and commitments to clean up their messes, purchase wetlands, stabilize stream banks and perform other environmental restoration, as well as 120 new administrative cases. The Justice Department could not give a total number of the additional criminal cases, but they include:

Indictments against Chemetco Inc.'s Hartford, IL, copper smelting plant and five of its employees for allegedly installing a secret pipe a decade ago that has spewed metal-laden sludge into Long Lake, a creek that empties into the Mississippi. A sixth employee pleaded guilty and is cooperating with Grace's office.
* $19 million in fines and restitution assessed in 12/98 against Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co., for dumping thousands of tons of lead waste at a rail car cleaning operation in Cherryville, MO.
A pending settlement with Material Service Corp. that would require the company to pay $7.5 million in penalties and to buy wetlands for letting its dolomite mining operation destroy about 40 acres of wetlands near the Des Plaines River outside Chicago (See Miscellaneous River Issues).

"It's not just a cost of doing business, when you pay a find," said U.S. Attorney Ed Dowd, who oversees Missouri's eastern district. "We're putting people in prison." Even environmentalists, accustomed to criticizing the government's performance a steward of natural resources, cheer the program. Reno and Assistant Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources Lois Schiffer have "pursued this like Elliot Ness pursued Al Capone. These are two tough ladies," said Scott Faber of the Washington-based conservation group American Rivers. "I think it's terrific that people who dump tires or oil into the Mississippi River are going to jail."

Source: Jennifer Loven, Associated Press Newswires, 8/28/99.