JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Duval County ranks 20th in the nation for the number of facilities exceeding permitted pollution limits, according to a new study by the Florida Public Interest Research Group.

The 18-month study titled "Troubled Waters" used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain data on Clean Water Act compliance between July 1, 2003, and Dec. 31, 2004. PIRG found that 13 of 20 facilities permitted to discharge wastewater in Duval County exceed limits.

Nine out of those 13 violations were by the JEA, the city-owned utility.

"Polluters are using America's waters as their dumping ground. Instead of solving the problem, the Bush administration is slashing the EPA's budget and weakening critical clean water programs," said Florida PIRG organizer Adam Rivera.

Rivera said the findings are likely conservative, since the data analyzed includes only major facilities and does not include pollution discharged into waters by the hundreds of thousands of minor facilities.

The St. John's Riverkeeper said this study should be a major wake-up call.

"There are polluters who are basically violating their permit violating the law and illegal discharging pollutants that they are not supposed to be doing," said St. Johns Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon. "It's not a right, it's a privilege to be able to use this body of water to help dispose of this waste."

JEA said the study actually makes them look good, that 13 violations are much fewer than some other companies.

"I think it demonstrates how far we've come," JEA spokeswoman Gerri Boyce said. "Our goal is zero. We intend to keep going the course."

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection told Channel 4's Emily Pantelides that it plans on holding all of these companies accountable.

On The Net: "Troubled Waters" Study (PDF file)