May 24, 2005

Congress Tells EPA to Dump Proposed Sewage Dumping Policy

In a victory for public health, Congressmen Bart Stupak, Clay Shaw, Frank Pallone and Jeff Miller presented their Anti-Sewage Dumping amendment, which passed on the House floor on a voice vote on Friday May 20th. The amendment eliminates funding for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) misguided sewage blending plan that would leave Americans at risk of contracting waterborne illnesses.

"In the face of over 98,000 public comments, objection from state agencies, public health officials, shellfish growers, religious organizations, and Congress, the EPA announced shortly before the vote that it was backing down from finalizing its blending policy,” said Ed Hopkins, Director of Environmental Quality, Sierra Club. “We applaud Congress for taking a position against the EPA's proposal and putting public health first."

“On behalf of the Wisconsin Save Our Beaches, Streams and Lakes from Sewage Alliance, we wish to thank the members of the Wisconsin Congressional Delegation who made a special effort to dump EPA’s Sewage Dumping rule,” said Caryl Terrell, Chapter Director, Sierra Club - John Muir Chapter (WI). “Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI04, Dem.-Milwaukee) and Congressman Mark Green (WI08, Rep.-Green Bay) each wrote EPA to ask that they do more, not less, to protect their constituents from human sewage that has closed beaches in their districts. Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (WI02, Dem.-Madison) and Congressman Ron Kind (WI03, Dem.-La Crosse) co-signed a letter with 133 other Republican and Democrat Members of Congress urging the EPA not to end the enforcement of important wastewater provisions that protect the eight (8) million Americans who suffer from waterborne disease each year. Ron Kind is also an original co-sponsor of H.R. 1126, the Save Our Waters from Sewage Act, introduced in March 2005.”

"Sewage blending is not the benign practice it has been made out to be. We thank the Congress and EPA for protecting us from further health risks instead of making it easier for sewage treatment plants to pollute our rivers and lakes" said Cheryl Nenn of Friends of Milwaukee's Rivers.

"I'm very pleased the EPA decided to help keep raw sewage out of our drinking water,” said Alice McCombs of EarthWINS, based in Shawano. “I hope EPA's decision reflects a greater willingness on the part of the Administration to respond to the public's desire for legislation that protects and enhances our nation's water quality."

In November 2003, the EPA proposed a policy to allow sewage treatment plants to routinely discharge inadequately treated sewage into our lakes, rivers, streams and coastal waters. Exposure to sewage makes people sick, contaminates shellfish, kills fish, and closes beaches.

“We need less sewage in our waters, not more,” said Derek Scheer, competitive swimmer and Water Policy Director, Clean Wisconsin. “Going to the beach with our kids show be fun, not life-threatening.”

The Wisconsin Save Our Beaches, Streams and Lakes from Sewage Alliance wrote and telephoned members of Congress prior to the successful vote. Members include: Clean Wisconsin, EarthWINS, Friends of Milwaukee’s Rivers, Greendale Environmental Group, John Muir Chapter of the Sierra Club, Midwest Environmental Advocates, Inc., Milwaukee County Conservation Coalition, River Alliance of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters.

May 17, 2005

More than half of cities, towns in Great Lakes region violating Clean Water Act rules on sewer overflows

WASHINGTON, D.C.

The Great Lakes – along with streams and rivers in six upper Midwest states (Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) – are being inundated with billions of gallons of raw human waste and other untreated sewage that cities and towns should be cleaning up under eight-year-old Clean Water Act rules, according to a new report issued today by the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project (EIP). The report finds that the failure of Great Lakes states and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address “combined sewer overflows” (CSOs) poses a major threat to public health and will degrade upper Midwest waterways for “several decades” to come if the sewer overflow problem is not brought under control.

The Environmental Integrity Project was joined today by Friends of the Chicago River, Michigan Clean Water Action, Friends of Milwaukee’s Rivers, Great Lakes Public Interest Group (PIRG) and Ohio PIRG in issuing the report entitled “Backed Up: Cleaning Up Combined Sewer Systems in the Great Lakes.” The report concludes that “more than half of the municipalities in the Great Lakes states do not meet even minimum Clean Water Act requirements for combined sewer overflows. Evidence suggests that 62 percent of the municipalities are not meeting the basic maintenance or reporting requirements for combined sewer overflows, and 54 percent do not have approved long-term plans required by law for upgrading sewage collection or treatment systems.”

“Combined sewer systems” carry both storm water and raw sewage to a wastewater treatment plant through a single collection system. During heavy rains, the sewage collection systems are overloaded and proceed to dump of a mix of pathogens, toxins, and other contaminants directly into Great Lake and regional rivers and streams. As the report notes: “Combined sewer overflows are a major threat to water quality in the Great Lakes states -- which are home to 43 percent of the nation’s 828 CSO communities -- making water unsafe for swimming, boating or fishing …”

Report author Michele Merkel, counsel to the Environmental Integrity Project, said: “If we don’t deal with the combined sewer overflow problem, the Great Lakes will become the Not-So-Great Lakes. The Bush Administration needs to reverse its proposed cuts to federal funding and step up enforcement instead of eliminating current restrictions on discharging inadequately treated sewage into waterways during rain events. The Administration’s proposed ‘blending’ policy allows sewage plant operators in the Midwest and elsewhere to routinely mix largely untreated sewage with fully treated wastewater prior to discharge. This means that our waters will receive more  viruses, toxic chemicals and other pollutants.”

Mike Shriberg, Great Lakes Advocate for the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), said:  Sewage overflows are a major public health threat yet only two states – Michigan and Indiana – require real-time reporting of these hazardous releases. Residents in states that lack a reliable warning system may be unknowingly exposed to sewage. Every city and town that releases raw or partially treated sewage is supposed to provide public notification, yet many are simply ignoring this requirement. This dangerous situation and breaching of public trust must be stopped. Citizens around the Great Lakes deserve to know when their water is being contaminated with sewage.”

Cheryl Nenn, Milwaukee riverkeeper, Friends of Milwaukee's Rivers, said: “Combined sewer overflows are a bona fide threat both to the environment and humans. Among the principal pollutants in CSOs are microbial pathogens and toxics, such as oil and pesticides that wash from streets into the sewer system during a rain or snowmelt event. Microbial pathogens include hundreds of different types of bacteria, viruses, and parasites. They are easily transported by water and can cause disease in fish and shellfish and illness in humans. Toxics present in CSO discharges include metals (such as cadmium, lead, mercury, silver, and zinc) and synthetic organic chemicals -- such as PCBs and pesticides -- which pose serious threats to human health.”