Baltimore Agrees to Overhaul Sewer System
The Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Maryland announced a joint settlement with the city of Baltimore that addresses continuing hazards posed by hundreds of illegal discharges of raw sewage from Baltimore's wastewater collection system.
Under the settlement, the city has agreed to undertake a comprehensive, system-wide program that will bring the city into long-term compliance with the Clean Water Act. It will also end the years of chronic discharges of millions of gallons of raw sewage into city streets and local waterways, including the Patapsco River and other tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay.
The extensive sewer upgrade will cost approximately $940 million over the 14-year life of the agreement. In addition, the city has agreed to pay a $600,000 civil penalty and design a biological nutrient reduction facility for the removal of nitrogen at the city-owned Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant at an estimated cost of at least $2.7 million.
Since 1996 the city has experienced hundreds of unpermitted discharges of raw sewage from its sanitary sewer system. Conservative estimates of the volume of raw sewage discharged is well over 100,000,000 gallons.
Under the settlement, Baltimore has agreed to complete construction work associated with increasing the capacity of its collection system and eliminating physical overflow structures by June 2007. The agreement also requires the city, pursuant to an enforceable schedule with milestone dates and stipulated penalties for failure to: perform a comprehensive program to repair and rehabilitate its sewer system to address remaining SSOs; eliminate illegal sewer connections; effect a complete separation of the combined portion of its system; improve its operation and maintenance program; implement an emergency response plan; and update its monitoring and reporting of sewage discharges.
Salisbury, EPA Settle Clean Water Act Case
The city of Salisbury, MD, has settled Clean Water Act violations at the city's wastewater treatment plant, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said. In a consent agreement with EPA, Salisbury agreed to pay a $40,000 penalty and complete two special environmental projects in addition to making improvements to the city's wastewater treatment systems.
The city's sewage treatment facility on Marine Road treats sewage and industrial wastewater prior to discharge to the Wicomico River.
EPA filed a complaint in December 2000 for alleged violations that included: discharging excessive amounts of metals such as silver, lead and zinc into the Wicomico River; failing to take sufficient enforcement action against Perdue Farms and K&L Microwave for wastewater treatment violations; and allowing raw sewage to flow directly into the Wicomico River watershed, which was due to the facility's inadequate backup facilities.
Since EPA filed the complaint, Salisbury has taken steps to upgrade treatment facilities and continues to work with industrial customers to reduce the amount of silver entering the system.
In addition to the penalty, Salisbury agreed to complete two supplemental environmental projects that exceed the requirements of federal and state law. First, Salisbury will install and operate a monitoring and control system for the city's drinking water plant and wastewater treatment system, allowing prompt responses to malfunctions. The system is expected to cost in excess of $200,000. Second, the city will install and operate facilities to collect floating waste from its separate municipal storm water system, at an estimated cost of $17,000, thereby reducing the amount of trash, debris, and greasy film, which are sometimes visible in some parts of the watershed.
