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Waste News
Monday, January 6, 2003
Vol: 8 Num: 20
Special Report
Cities turn to gov't for help with sewers
Joe Truini
Municipalities are hoping to get some relief next year to pay for improving aging wastewater infrastructures to meet federal standards, but it could be a tough sell in Washington.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is starting to crack down on
regulations aimed at reducing the number of combined sewer overflows in
municipalities. Combined sewer systems utilize the same pipe system to
collect sanitary sewage, wastewater and stormwater. Severe weather such
as thunderstorms can cause overflows in combined systems. About 772 U.S.
cities have combined sewer systems.
"It's going on city by city across the nation," said Adam Krantz, a
spokesman for the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies in
Washington. "Obviously, it's a very large concern, and it's a very
expensive issue."
Last year, the city of Youngstown, Ohio, signed an agreement with the
U.S. EPA and the Department of Justice to improve its combined sewer
system for $100 million over the next 20 years. City officials agreed to
spend $12 million on immediate improvements to settle the government's
lawsuit against the city.
"We'd like to see the federal government beginning to understand that
when they place these requirements on municipalities, there should be
some level of funding that goes with it," Krantz said.
Cities operating sanitary sewer systems, which collect only sanitary
sewage and wastewater, also may see stronger rules implemented by the
EPA this year. The agency is proposing revisions to the National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, which requires cities to
keep records and reports on overflows and system maintenance.
The EPA estimates that 40,000 overflows occur annually. The revisions
would improve the operation of sanitary sewer systems, reduce the number
of overflows and provide more effective public notification when they
occur. The EPA plans to publish its revisions in the Federal Register in
the fall.
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System covers about
19,000 municipalities that operate sanitary sewer systems. Another
4,800 municipal satellite collection systems also would be regulated
under the new rules. Many of those municipalities will have to replace
aging infrastructure, namely pipes, to comply with the new rules.
The EPA estimates that the new rule would impose an additional total
cost for municipalities of $93.5 million to $126.5 per year. A
collection system serving 7,500 would need to spend an average of $6,000
per year to comply. The EPA also released a clean water and drinking
water gap analysis in September to assess historical and future
investment patterns and the gap between needs and spending.
But the federal government is laying requirements on municipalities
one on top of another, Krantz said. If that wasn't enough, they also
have new security concerns to address, he said.
Congress introduced bills last year to provide assistance to cities.
The bills not only failed, they did not provide a strong enough funding
mechanism, Krantz said.
U.S. Rep. Sue Kelly, R-N.Y., who is a member of the House Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, plans to propose a revamped
wastewater bill that may mix loan funding with federal grants, Krantz
said.
But it will be difficult for municipalities to make their case for
federal funding, given the large number of federal priorities, said
Steve Allbee, project director of the EPA's gap analysis project.
About 75 percent of the investment in municipal wastewater treatment
infrastructure is underground, Allbee said. Over the last 30 years,
municipalities have invested in serving more people at higher levels.
During the next 20 years, they will have to deal not only with growth in
the economy and the population but with repairing and replacing aging
infrastructure.
Pipes have a long life, and during the first 50 years there may be
little investment necessary to maintain the system. But when the system
starts deteriorating, the process can accelerate rapidly.
"You go from having a fairly good pipe network to having an average to
poor one in a relatively short period of time," he said.
Cities will have to increase revenue 3 percent above inflation to pay
for the improvements the federal government is asking for, the EPA's gap
report says. That could mean almost doubling water bills in the next 20
years, Allbee said.
"This is a very big public policy problem, and it is hitting a large
number of cities and will continue to do so," he said.
Contact Waste News reporter Joe Truini at (330) 865-6166 or
jtruini@crain.com