Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - AMSA in the News
EPA Proposal Would Dilute Sewage With Treated Wastewater
Public comment will be taken until Feb. 9 on plan that would benefit plant in
Bangor Township
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
By Jeff Kart
Times Writer
Decades ago, there was an old adage that "The solution to pollution is
dilution."
Those methods of wastewater treatment were abandoned when the Clean Water Act
was signed into law in 1972 due to the threats the practice posed to human
health, fish and wildlife, some environmentalists say.
But the watchdogs say the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is planning to
turn back the clocks with a proposal to allow "sewage blending" at some
municipal wastewater treatment plants during heavy rainfall.
The practice - mixing sewage with treated wastewater and skipping secondary or
biological treatment - leads to beach closings, algal blooms, and makes people
sick, said Terry Miller of Monitor Township, chairman of the Lone Tree Council
environmental group.
"It's exactly the direction we don't want to go," Miller said.
The change would benefit the West Bay County Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant
in Bangor Township, which may have to spend millions of dollars on new holding
basins if the rules aren't changed, said Ken Schott, plant superintendent.
The EPA rules would affect "separated" wastewater treatment systems, like West
Bay County, where storm water and sanitary sewers flow in separate pipes.
But the regulations largely would exclude plants in Bay City, Essexville and
Saginaw, where sewage and storm water are mostly combined.
The Lone Tree Council's Miller said the proposal would allow plants to save
money on treatment, but the public would pay in health problems and lost
recreational opportunities.
He isn't alone.
About 60 U.S. representatives - including Dale E. Kildee, D-Flint; and Bart
Stupak, D-Menominee - have signed on to a letter to EPA Administrator Michael
Leavitt, urging the agency not to implement the change.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality also is against the proposal as
it's written, said Thomas E. Knueve, a DEQ environmental engineer in Lansing.
Knueve said his agency wants to see blending eliminated altogether, and believes
the EPA's proposal is too vague and violates the Clean Water Act.
State rules currently allow blending when more than 3.9 inches of rain fall in a
24-hour period, he said, and discharge permit limits still have to be met. But
the EPA proposal doesn't even define "wet weather conditions," Knueve said.
The EPA, for its part, said in a statement that the proposed policy is being
issued to better clarify existing rules under the Clean Water Act, and plants
would still be required to meet water quality standards under their discharge
permits.
Other organizations representing wastewater professionals, including the Water
Environment Federation and the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies,
also have issued statements saying the plans are cost-effective and safe.
The EPA has put the proposal out for public comment until Feb. 9, after which
the agency can finalize it.
The change would apply not only to plants with separated sewage systems, but
also to the separated portions of mostly combined systems, such as in Bay City,
Essexville and Saginaw, local officials said.
Sanitary systems hold raw sewage that has more potential to damage the
environment, while combined systems hold sewage that's already been diluted by
storm water.
Normally, sewage gets primary treatment, where solids are settled out, and the
water is chlorinated and dechlorinated. Then it receives secondary, biological
treatment. With blending, the secondary treatment is skipped and partially
treated wastewater is mixed with treated wastewater.
Schott said the West Bay County plant, built in 1978, has blended sewage about
four times since 1999. The last incident was in March 2002, when about 9.2
million gallons were released, state records show.
Schott said the plant met its discharge permit each time, testing for pathogens
such as fecal coliform bacteria.
"I really don't think it's a danger," he said of blending.
Schott said his plant is able to fully treat up to 10.28 million gallons of
sanitary sewage per day.
But the system isn't airtight, and some storm water gets in during heavy
rainfall and the spring thaw.
If the system gets overwhelmed, it has a 3-million gallon basin to store
wastewater that can be treated later.
But if the system and basin both become full, the plant has two choices - to
back up the system and flood people's basements with sewage, or blend the sewage
and release it to the Saginaw River, Schott said.
The West Bay County plant is under a schedule from the DEQ to eliminate blending
by 2008, Schott said.
The plant is working to shore up its system, sealing manholes and inspecting
pipes.
But if the EPA's proposal doesn't go through, the plant may have to build a
bunch of additional basins in surrounding townships, which could cost tens of
millions of dollars, Schott said.
That cost would be paid by customers the plant serves in Bangor Township,
Monitor Township, Kawkawlin Township, Frankenlust Township, Williams Township
and the city of Auburn, he said.
U.S. Rep. Kildee, whose district includes parts of Bay County and all of Tuscola
County, believes the blending proposal is a threat to public health, a spokesman
said.
"This is something you'd can't play around with," said Peter Karafotas, press
secretary for Kildee.
The DEQ's Knueve said about 80 percent of the state's wastewater systems are
combined. Only about 3 percent practice blending, and the state is trying to
eliminate those.
If the EPA proposal becomes official, Michigan's more stringent regulations
would still apply to separated sewer systems, but the national standards would
make it difficult for the state to negotiate settlements with plants to improve
their sanitary sewer systems, Knueve said. That also could result in court
challenges to Michigan regulations.
- Jeff Kart covers the environment and politics for The Times. He can be reached
at 894-9639.