Bush to Block Sewer Funding

Congress appears poised to approve billions of dollars to help
cities renovate their aging sewage systems. That could prevent a lot
of sewage dumps into lakes and rivers. But the funding – if approved by Congress –
might not get the President’s signature. Tracy Samilton reports:

Transcript

Congress appears poised to approve billions of dollars to help
cities renovate their aging sewage systems. That could prevent a lot
of sewage dumps into lakes and rivers. But the funding – if approved by Congress –
might not get the President’s signature. Tracy Samilton reports:


Many American cities have sewage systems that dump untreated sewage
into nearby waters during heavy rainstorms. The problem contributes to
beach closings, and in some places, sewage even backs up into people’s
basements.


But the price tag to fix one mid-size sewage treatment system can be
hundreds of millions of dollars. Without federal help that can be out
of reach for many cities. Katherine Baer of American Rivers says the
problem will be worse soon:


“We have systems all around the country kind of hitting that place
where there’s a lot of population growth and older systems, and all of
a sudden they’ve kind of come up with a perfect storm causing a lot of
sewage.”


There’s considerable support for the funding in the Senate, but no
support at all in the Bush Administration. The President has
indictated he will veto the bills if they reach his desk.


For the Environment Report, I’m Tracy Samilton.

Related Links

Report: Sewer Systems Fail to Meet Standards

  • A new report says that sewage systems respond inadequately to sewage spills. (Photo by M. Vasquez)

According to a new report, from an environmental advocacy group, city sewer systems around the Great Lakes are failing to meet federal Clean Water Act standards. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve Carmody
reports:

Transcript

According to a new report, from an environmental advocacy group,
city sewer systems around the Great Lakes are failing to meet federal
Clean Water Act standards. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve
Carmody reports:


The Environmental Integrity Project analyzed data from federal, state and
other sources to compile its review of municipal waste water systems in the
region.


EIP’s Michelle Merkel says researchers found most municipal waste
water sewage systems failed to meet standards to prevent untreated sewage
spills; failed to adequately report the spills when they occurred; or had
inadequate plans to prevent such spills in the future.


Merkel adds, due to a lack of state and federal oversight, the problem may
actually be worse:


“The true extent of the problem is really unknown because the states just aren’t doing a good job of tracking it and making the cities track it.”


To address the problem, The EIP wants the EPA and state regulators to
enforce combined sewer overflow rules, require public notification of spills
within 24 hours and arrange for more federal-state financing for future
sewer improvement projects.


For the GLRC, I’m Steve Carmody.

Related Links

Assigning Blame for Beach Closings

More communities along the Great Lakes are testing their beaches and fighting over who’s to blame for beach closings. One dispute along Lake Michigan involves the performance of a multi-billion dollar sewage system in Milwaukee. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:

Transcript

More communities along the Great Lakes are testing their beaches and fighting over who’s to blame for beach closings. One dispute along Lake Michigan involves the performance of a multi-billion dollar sewage system in Milwaukee. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:


Some Illinois Congress people have asked the EPA to stop Milwaukee from dumping sewage into Lake Michigan. The politicians say a major sewage tunnel installed in Milwaukee a decade ago still allows too much untreated material into the water. They argue that city sewage is to blame for a sizable increase in Illinois beach closings over the last few years. But Val Klump of the Great Lakes Water Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee says the local sewer tunnel has greatly reduced the number of sewer overflows.


“Now that’s not to say we’re content with allowing any kind of untreated material getting into our waterways. That’s not our goal.”


But Klump says given other factors like dilution and other bacterial sources like gull droppings and pet waste, it’s less likely that Milwaukee wastewater is fouling beaches fifty miles south.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Chuck Quirmbach in Milwaukee.