Baltimore, Capital District Agree To $1 Billion Sewer Fix
Two joint federal-state settlements worth a total of $1 billion reached Tuesday will protect Capital District and Baltimore waters from contamination by untreated sewage, which contains bacteria, pathogens and other pollutants that degrade water quality, harm aquatic life and threaten public health. Innovative techniques are part of the settlement package, such as inspecting 1,120 miles of sewer mains in five years with closed circuit television.
The U.S. Justice Department, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Maryland Department of the Environment said the two Clean Water Act settlements with Baltimore County and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), are expected to lead to more than $1 billion in sewer system improvements.
Combined with a recent federal settlement against the DC Water and Sewer Authority and a joint federal-state settlement against the city of Baltimore, Tuesday’s settlements are designed to prevent continual sewage overflows to the Chesapeake Bay, and the Anacostia, Patapsco, Patuxent, and Potomac Rivers.
Over the past five years, the two federal agencies and the state of Maryland have cooperated to reach a number of settlements with regional sewer authorities to help reduce pollutants from reaching tributaries to the Chesapeake Bay. The agencies count Tuesday’s consent decrees as their latest successes.
Provided by the Environmental News Service.