FW: Drinking Water and Sewage: This one is hard tobelieve!

[Guest guest]

> Here's more info dated early spring 2005 from

> http://www.glhabitat.org/news/glnews429.html :

>

> Sewage " Blending " Threatens Water Quality

> By Mike Shriberg, Great Lakes Advocate for the state PIRGs (Public

> Interest Research Groups)

>

> The dangers of untreated sewage are well-known. The bacteria, viruses,

> worms and other disgusting and hazardous things in sewage make over 7

> million people sick per year in the U.S., according to the EPA.We become

> sick when sewage contaminates our drinking water and food as well as our

> swimming beaches and fishing and boating areas. The impacts are

> particularly harsh on those who are least able to defend themselves:

> children, the elderly and immuneimpaired individuals. Beyond the health

> impacts, improperly treated sewage causes economic impacts through beach

> closings as well as increased costs to treat water and, of course,

> health care costs and lost productivity of sick workers.

>

> Yet, over 30 years after the passage of the Clean Water Act, the U.S.

> is still releasing over 1.3 trillion gallons/year of untreated sewage

> into our rivers and lakes. This problem is particularly severe in the

> Great Lakes. Most sewage releases happen after a rainstorm or snowmelt.

> At these times, water infiltrates the old, crumbling infrastructure

> designed to treat sewage and heads toward the wastewater treatment

> plants. In order to prevent the plants from flooding or the sewage from

> backing up into homes, it is released directly into our water, untreated

> or with only partial treatment. These releases are designed into sewage

> systems and are being exacerbated by expanding populations and the

> attendant increases in impervious surfaces.

>

> Rather than cleaning up this problem, the EPA has proposed allowing

> sewage treatment plants to dump inadequately treated sewage into our

> waters during rain storms. The " blending " policy (we prefer to refer

> to it as a " dumping " policy) would permit sewage treatment plants to

> mix partially treated sewage (primary treatment with or without

> chlorination) with fully treated waste and dump that mixture into waters

> around the Great Lakes. The key policy change is that EPA is proposing

> to make this a routine strategy for waste " treatment " , allowed

> during any rain event. Currently, the Clean Water Act explicitly

> prohibits " the intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion

> of the treatment facility " under normal operating conditions (such as

> rainfall).

>

> This policy not only poses a serious threat to public health

> (researchers at Michigan State University found that health risks

> increase by 100 times with sewage blending as opposed to full treatment)

> and the environment, but also violates the Clean Water Act. The public

> has reacted strongly against allowing more sewage in our waters. In

> 2003, when the EPA first proposed sewage dumping, state environmental

> agencies, public health officials and tens of thousands of citizens made

> comments against the policy. The Natural Resources Defense Council (and,

> potentially, other groups) plans to sue if the EPA continues to pursue

> the blending policy. The state PIRGs (Public Interest Research Groups)

> has been mobilizing regional and national opposition to the proposed

> policy.

>

> Despite this opposition, the EPA is reportedly preparing to finalize

> the sewage blending policy, which would then pass the responsibility to

> Great Lakes states. If the policy is released as a " guidance " (as

> expected), states will be able to " opt-out " of allowing blending in

> their pollution permits. Given the serious repercussions for watersheds

> around the Great Lakes, it is important that local voices are heard in

> opposition to sewage blending.What the Great Lakes needs is more

> protection from untreated sewage, not less. We need more funding for

> wastewater treatment infrastructure,strict regulations on runoff from

> new and existing development, and strong enforcement of the Clean Water

> Act. Sewage " dumping " is clearly not the answer to the increasing

> public and environmental health risk of sewage.

>

> One way to get involved is by contacting the EPA directly. Ben

> Grumbles, Assistant Administrator for Water, is the point person for

> blending and can be reached at 202-564-5700 or grumbles.

> benjamin. At the state level, response to the Blending

> Proposal has varied. Michigan DEQ and Pennsylvania DEP have come out

> opposed to the policy and deserve recognition and support for taking

> this stance. The Ohio EPA is supporting (and, in several cases,

> implementing) the blending policy. Other state environmental agencies

> have largely been silent on the issue.

>

> On the federal level, Representative Bart Stupak (Michigan) and several

> others have circulated a " Dear Colleague " sign-on letter, urging the

> EPA to drop the blending policy. Representative Stupak has also

> introduced a bill designed to ensure that blending is illegal.

> Individuals and organizations can get involved by writing Letters to the

> Editor and talking to reporters, editors and editorial boards of local

> newspapers to ensure coverage of this threat to Great Lakes water

> quality.

>

> Mike Shriberg is the Great Lakes advocate for the state PIRGs (Public

> Interest Research Groups), a network of state-based environmental and

> consumer advocacy organizations. He is based in Ann Arbor, MI, and can

> be reached at 734-662-6597 or mshriberg.

>

>

>

> Or check out http://www.cleanwateraction.org/backgrounder2.htm