The Pittsburgh-based environmental group, Three Rivers Waterkeeper, issued a formal notice of intent to sue on Wednesday to affiliates of Sunoco and BP, as well as other entities, claiming that they continue to pollute the Allegheny River with oil and tar. The group is being represented by Appalachian Mountain Advocates.
Captain Evan Clark of the Waterkeeper group monitors Pittsburgh-area rivers by boat. Along the Allegheny, he has often noticed an oily sheen in the water and tar deposited on the shoreline near 57th Street in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood.
“There’s been a constant seep of oil coming out of that section of river bank, and a really strong petrochemical smell,” he said.
The group alleges that petrochemicals are routinely discharged from multiple sources on the 50-acre site along the riverfront, which it calls a violation of Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law…