Benton, WA
A PlainEnviro-computed score from reported facility/violation counts, not an official EPA rating, health forecast, or population-adjusted rate. See methodology. This is a different measure than the EJ Screening score for this county, which ranks it by percentile against every other tracked county rather than against fixed national thresholds.
Environmental data for Benton in Washington · Population: 210,224
Benton, WA is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 11 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, 32 Safe Drinking Water Act systems, and 0 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Together these generate an environmental burden score of 47/100 (Moderate Risk), calibrated against national distributions for facility density, chemical release volume, Superfund concentration, and water-system health violations.
Industrial disclosures inside the county total 21.4M lbs of reported toxic releases under EPCRA Section 313, while 7 water systems carry an active health-based violation in the SDWIS record. EPA Air Quality System monitors logged a median AQI of 34 and a peak AQI of 126 in 2024, with 82% of observed days rated "Good" (0–50).
All figures below draw directly from federal EPA records, TRI self-reported emissions, SDWIS compliance history, NPL Hazard Ranking System scores, and AQS daily AQI summaries, and are not adjusted, weighted, or forecast. A past violation or elevated score does not itself indicate current unsafe conditions; it documents the regulatory and disclosure history publicly filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the most recent reporting cycle.
Air Quality History (2020–2024)
EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) data showing how many days per year fall into each air quality category.
| Year | Good | Moderate | Unhealthy (SG) | Max AQI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 299 (82%) | 64 | 3 | 126 |
| 2023 | 262 (72%) | 99 | 1 | 261 |
| 2022 | 278 (76%) | 84 | 2 | 151 |
| 2021 | 283 (78%) | 73 | 6 | 180 |
| 2020 | 284 (78%) | 69 | 3 | 954 |
Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County AQI categories: Good (0-50), Moderate (51-100), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150), Unhealthy (151-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300), Hazardous (301+)
For real-time air quality readings and pollutant breakdowns in Washington, see the EPA's AirNow.gov.
Water Systems (32)
| System | Population | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| KENNEWICK CITY OF | 114,468 | 0 |
| RICHLAND CITY OF | 106,248 | 0 |
| WEST RICHLAND CITY OF | 18,280 | 0 |
| SUNNYSIDE CITY OF | 17,037 | 0 |
| PROSSER CITY OF | 6,211 | 0 |
| BENTON CITY WATER | 5,626 | 0 |
| BADGER MOUNTAIN IRRIGATION DISTRICT | 2,331 | 23 |
| SUMMIT VIEW WATER SYSTEM | 1,869 | 0 |
| BC WATER CO | 1,262 | 34 |
| Community Sewer and Water District | 1,200 | 0 |
| COLUMBIA VIEW WATER SYSTEM | 500 | 0 |
| WHITE BLUFF WATER ASSOCIATION | 386 | 0 |
| HOMESTEAD MANUFACTURED HOUSING | 300 | 1 |
| TRI-CITY WATER DISTRICT #45 | 300 | 0 |
| Plymouth Water District | 288 | 10 |
| ALDERDALE WATER ASSN | 171 | 0 |
| PASCO HEIGHTS DOMESTIC WATER ASSN | 135 | 0 |
| KIONA VILLAGE COURT | 124 | 0 |
| OVERLOOK MOBILE HOME VILLAGE | 120 | 0 |
| MARQUEZ MOBILE HOME PARK | 120 | 0 |
| RAINBOW COURT | 120 | 7 |
| ROZA HEIGHTS WATER ASSN | 110 | 0 |
| SUNDANCE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION | 100 | 25 |
| PATERSON HEIGHTS WATER ASSN | 85 | 0 |
| EATON PARK SUBDIVISION | 70 | 0 |
| GOODNIGHT WATER SYSTEM | 47 | 0 |
| BADGER CANYON WATER ASSN | 40 | 0 |
| GOOD NEIGHBORS WATER ASSN | 40 | 0 |
| MOUNT ADAMS VISTA WATER SYSTEM | 34 | 0 |
| BAR 80 RANCHETTES | 32 | 0 |
| COXVILLE WATER ASSN #1 | 26 | 81 |
| GOOSE GAP WATER ASSOCIATION | 25 | 0 |
TRI Facilities (11)
| # | Facility | Total Releases |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lamb Weston Inc Richland Facility | 13.1M lbs |
| 2 | Nutrien US LLC | 4.9M lbs |
| 3 | US Doe Hanford Site | 1.2M lbs |
| 4 | Alleima Special Metals LLC | 950.8K lbs |
| 5 | Perma-Fix Northwest Richland Inc | 470.3K lbs |
| 6 | Framatome Np | 446.4K lbs |
| 7 | Lamb Weston Inc. - Paterson Plant | 187.1K lbs |
| 8 | Tree Top Inc - Prosser Sprayfield | 61.7K lbs |
| 9 | Tessenderlo Kerley Inc. | 35.0K lbs |
| 10 | American Rock Products Hanford | 8.7K lbs |
| 11 | Kaiser Aluminum Washington | 0 lbs |
Cities in Benton (5)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the environmental risk level in Benton, Washington? ▼
Are there Superfund sites in Benton? ▼
How many toxic release facilities are in Benton? ▼
What is the air quality in Benton? ▼
Is the drinking water safe in Benton? ▼
What environmental agencies cover Benton? ▼
What does this county environmental profile show?
This county environmental profile rolls up EPA Toxics Release Inventory facility reports, Safe Drinking Water Information System public-water-system filings, and Superfund National Priorities List sites for the county boundary defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Facility counts reflect facilities with a reporting address inside the county, not where downstream environmental effects may be observed. Population figures are from the most recent Census ACS 5-year estimate. The county detail page is updated whenever the upstream EPA programs publish revised data; see the methodology page for the documented ingest cadence and the editorial choices governing how aggregations are computed.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.