Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - AMSA in the News
EPA Plan to Blend Treated with Untreated Sewage Raises Stink
WASHINGTON, DC, December 13, 2004 (ENS) - The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is poised to reverse a requirement that all wastewater facilities
treat sewage to a secondary treatment level, according to the Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC).
For the last 50 years, standard sewage treatment has involved a two-step process
- removal of solids, and biological treatment to kill bacteria, viruses and
parasites.
The new policy allows facilities to routinely bypass the second step and "blend"
partially treated sewage with fully treated wastewater before discharging it
into waterways, the nongovernmental organization says, warning that an increased
threat of bacteria, viruses and parasites in American waterways will be the
result.
On November 4, 2003, the EPA proposed changes to the Clean Water Act’s National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements for municipal
wastewater treatment during wet weather conditions allowing routine discharges
of largely untreated sewage during rain events. The draft policy was issued for
public comment.
The EPA calls this proposal its "blending" policy because it would allow sewer
operators to mix largely untreated sewage with treated sewage before discharging
it into waterways. Untreated sewage contains pathogens - bacteria such as E.coli,
viruses such as hepatitis A, protozoa such as cryptosporidium and giardia.
The new proposal has not met with the approval of public health officials, state
environmental officials, shellfishermen, or marina operators. Among those
commenting negatively against the proposal were state environmental agencies in
Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and Washington, the American Public Health
Association, the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers, several county public health
agencies, and the Children’s Environmental Health Network.
But Larry Jaworski, president of the Water Environment Federation said his
organization is "pleased that EPA is providing national guidance on blending at
municipal wastewater treatment plants during wet weather."
"Blending is a longstanding, sensible practice used to manage high flow events
at wastewater treatment plants while maintaining compliance with NPDES permit
limits," Jaworski said. "EPA’s guidance will support local governments in
planning and operating wastewater facilities which provide environmentally sound
and cost effective treatment during a variety of conditions, leading to
improvements in water quality."
A November 2003 NRDC commissioned study by Michigan State University biologist
Joan Rose concluded that the EPA's new policy would pose a significant threat to
public health. Dr. Rose, an expert in water pollution microbiology and
waterborne diseases, determined that "[t]he risks associated with swimming in
waters receiving the blended flows were … 100 times greater than if the
wastewater were fully treated."
The new policy is illegal, said Nancy Stoner, director of NRDC's Clean Water
Project. The Clean Water Act requires sewer operators to fully treat sewage
before discharging it except in an emergency, she said.
Blended sewage does not meet this requirement, and the EPA has taken enforcement
actions against sewer operators in which the agency has clearly stated in
writing that blending violates the Clean Water Act.
"The Bush administration claims that the blended sewage will meet all Clean
Water Act standards, but that's not good enough to protect the public," Stoner
said. "In fact, the law does not specifically cover many dangerous viruses and
parasites, but biological treatment - the step the administration is making
optional whenever it rains - removed those contaminants."
The Bush administration's fiscal year 2005 budget called for cutting $492
million from the Clean Water Act State Revolving Fund, which loans money to
states to help pay for sewage treatment. Congress ultimately cut $250 million
from the fund. Stoner said substantially more funding is needed to adequately
protect the public.
"The federal government should require treatment plants to upgrade their aging
sewer systems and help them out with more funding," she said. "Instead, it cut
funding and now will allow these facilities to discharge viruses and bacteria
directly into our water."
Ken Kirk, executive director of the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage
Agencies, thinks the blending policy is a good idea, calling it "an excellent
example of environmental policymaking that protects both the nation's waters and
public health."
Read the draft policy online at:
http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/cso/blending.cfm