New York’s Biggest Polluters Spending Over 3 Million Dollars to Pollute Politics

Media Contacts
Heather Leibowitz

Environment New York

New York, NY – The owner of Anheuser-Busch Inc. spent $3,640,000 on lobbying in a single year, according to a new report by Environment New York. The enormous spending came after Anheuser-Busch Inc. dumped 1,396,149 pounds of toxic chemicals into New York’s waterways in 2012. 

Environment New York released its “Polluting Politics” report shortly after the introduction of a House bill to block the EPA’s clean water rule to restore Clean Water Act protections to thousands of waterways in New York and across the country.

“As it turns out, the same companies that are polluting our rivers with toxic chemicals are also polluting our politics with their spending,” observed Heather Leibowitz, Director of Environment New York.

Environment New York’s report links discharges of toxic chemicals as reported in the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory for 2012 with federally reported campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures.

Right now, polluters are lobbying their allies on Capitol Hill to derail EPA’s plan to restore Clean Water Act protections to over 28,000 miles of streams in New York. Loopholes in the law currently leave the waterways that feed the drinking water for 11 million New Yorkers at risk.

“Hundreds of billions of dollars of real estate is at stake on Long Island alone.  We must restore our rivers and bays if only because no one wants to live near dead water.  Saving our waters will require good corporate citizenship, but would ultimately benefit Long Island companies and their employees by pointing us toward a sustainable Long Island,” said Marshall Brown, founder of Save the Great South Bay.

 “It’s clear that New York’s polluters have deep pockets, but thousands of New Yorkers have raised their voices in support of doing more to protect the Hudson River,” Leibowitz said. “It’s time for Congress to listen to citizens, not the polluters, and let the EPA finish the job to protect our waterways.”