A pharmaceutical company will pay more than $20 million for multiple Clean Water Act violations stemming from three chemical spills, one of which killed more than 1,000 fish and forced the city to temporarily shut off drinking water intakes. Based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., Merck & Co. Inc. will pay $10 million for systems to prevent future hazardous discharges at the facility 15 miles outside Philadelphia, and $9 million for other large-scale environmental protection projects, federal authorities said. Merck also will pay $750,000 to the federal government, $750,000 to the state and $75,000 to the state Fish and Boat Commission in penalties and civil damages for the three 2006 discharges in the Wissahickon Creek, which is the source of 40 percent of Philadelphia's drinking water. "Perhaps more than anything else, this settlement says to every company that discharges dangerous chemicals as part of its operations that it is accountable to the environment and the community," U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Meehan said in a statement.

To view the full article, visit the U.S. Water News Online. For a copy of the original article contact the WIP at (970) 247-1302 or stop by the office at 841 East Second Avenue in Durango.