EPA’s Draft Sewage Dumping Policy
courtesy of Clean Water Action
What is the draft sewage dumping policy?
In November 2003, EPA proposed changes to the Clean Water Act’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for Municipal Wastewater Treatment During Wet Weather Conditions that relaxes restrictions on discharging inadequately treated sewage into waterways during rain events. It would allow sewage treatment plants to discharge sewage that has been diverted around secondary treatment units during wet weather. Because the largely untreated sewage is mixed with treated sewage before discharge, EPA refers to this as “sewage blending.” Specifically, it authorizes the discharge of sewage that has had no biological treatment to kill pathogens and remove other pollutants.
Why is this a bad idea?
Sewage dumping is bad for public health. Sewage is filled with human wastes, industrial chemical waste, and commercial waste containing grease, toxins, bacteria, viruses, parasites, pharmaceuticals, hormones and antibiotics. “Blended” sewage has significantly higher levels of these pollutants than sewage that has undergone full treatment. Sewage that has not been fully treated is filled with bacteria, viruses, and parasites that carry diseases, such as cholera, hepatitis, gastroenteritis, respiratory infections, and dysentery. These illnesses can be life threatening for small children, the elderly, cancer patients, and others who are already weakened by disease. Experts estimate that 8 million Americans get sick every year from exposure to polluted water.
Sewage dumping is bad for the economy and the environment. Allowing inadequately treated sewage to be discharged into our nation’s waters will have adverse, long-term environmental consequences. Sewage in our waterways closes beaches, increases the cost of drinking water filtration, feeds toxic algal blooms, damages coral reefs, shuts down shellfish beds, and robs the water of oxygen that fish need to breathe.
EPA’s sewage dumping policy is illegal. The Clean Water Act and its implementing regulations require sewage to be fully treated prior to discharge under routine operating conditions. EPA’s proposed sewage dumping policy sewage does not meet current treatment requirements, and EPA has taken several enforcement actions against sewer operators in which EPA has clearly stated in writing that sewage dumping violates the Clean Water Act.
Who supports it and why is it being proposed?
Sewer authorities have convinced the EPA that the answer to insufficient maintenance of aging sewer systems is to allow sewage to be discharged without effective treatment during rainfall when it can be diluted. They claim that weakening current sewage treatment requirements will resolve “inconsistencies in regional enforcement” and avoid the cost of upgrading treatment facilities.
Opposition to EPA’s proposed sewage dumping policy is widespread and growing.
Among those weighing in against the EPA’s proposal are public health officials, doctors, state agencies, shell fish growers, environmental organizations, and thousands of citizens.
Support the Stupak/Shaw Anti-Sewage Dumping Amendment to prevent the EPA from finalizing its sewage dumping policy.
Posted by Dave at May 13, 2005 10:01 AM