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Coalition Of 135 Lawmakers Urges EPA To Drop Sewer Discharge Proposal
Feb. 23 -- A bipartisan group of 135 congressmen has sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency urging it to drop a proposal allowing local sewer operators to discharge partially treated wastewater by blending it with treated wastewater.
Reps. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., and E. Clay Shaw Jr., R-Fla., initiated the letter to EPA acting administrator Stephen L. Johnson.
If the EPA fails to act on the letter, Stupak said he would introduce legislation in Congress to prevent the blending policy from going into effect.
"We are sending a strong message to the EPA that we will fight to block them from weakening the Clean Water Act and turning back the clock on water protections," Stupak said.
The EPA´s draft blending policy, unveiled in November, would allow filtered wastewater to be discharged without chemical treatment along with fully treated wastewater.
Critics argue that the policy would put the public´s health at risk, but the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies and some local governments say that blending is an essential component of local sewer agencies´ strategies for dealing with heavy rainfall or snowmelt.
Blending protects the quality of water by preventing a sewer system from involuntary overflows of raw sewage and sewer backups into residents´ basements during unusually heavy rainfall or snow melt, according to policy advocates.
Wastewater systems across the country need expensive upgrades to correct overflow problems, but they lack funding. Federal estimates of funding shortfalls range from $9 billion to $12 billion annually.