NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:CONTACT: Glen Brand, 513-861-4001
January 20, 2001 Marilyn Wall, 513-761-6140
SIERRA CLUB SUES COUNTY, CITY, MSD OVER ILLEGAL RAW SEWAGE DISCHARGES
Dumping Could Lead to Ban on New Sewer Connections and Millions in Fines
CINCINNATI—Today, the Sierra Club filed a notice of intent to sue the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSD), the City of Cincinnati, and Hamilton County over raw sewage discharges to the Little Miami National Scenic River and the Mill Creek. The suit alleges that MSD has for more than a decade illegally discharged raw sewage to these two waterways through sanitary sewer overflows, causing serious water pollution and potentially endangering the health and safety of Cincinnati area residents.
Sanitary Sewer Overflows, or SSOs, are instances where raw, untreated sewage (combined with industrial effluents) have spilled from the sewage system through manholes, pump stations, breaks in sewer lines or from overflow valves. Since 1972, SSOs have been illegal, being a violation of the federal Clean Water Act.
In the MSD service area, there are currently 101 sanitary sewer overflows. According to MSD data, from September 2000 to May 2001, raw sewage was dumped into local waterways on 198 separate days. Considering the penalty under the Federal Clean Water Act is $25,000 for each day of violation, the violations from this 8-month period alone could result in a fine of over $4.9 million dollars. The federal court can assess civil penalties for the past 5 years of SSO violations.
“MSD has been knowingly and illegally dumping raw sewage for more than a decade, and Hamilton County and Cincinnati officials have not taken the necessary steps to clean up our streams and rivers,” said Sierra Club’s Ohio Conservation Chair, Marilyn Wall. “In fact, MSD has expanded their sewers, thereby causing more overflows, instead of correcting bad sewers. We need a “Fix-it First” sewer policy.”
“The public expects that municipal leaders will provide sufficient resources to keep the sewage collection and treatment systems working properly and keep the raw sewage where it belongs: inside the underground pipes,” said Andy Betts, Water Quality Campaign Coordinator for the Miami Group of the Sierra Club. “It’s time that local elected officials follow the law and not allow the contamination of our water resources.”
In its legal action, the Sierra Club will seek a federal court consent decree that provides a long-term solution to illegal SSOs, including an enforceable compliance schedule; a technical advisory committee to
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review SSO elimination plans and funding commitments; a moratorium on new sewer connections until an acceptable and court-enforceable plan for SSO elimination is adopted and funded; smart growth land use and zoning plans that protect the sewer system from overflowing in the future; and payment of civil penalties for the past 5 years of SSO violations, in order to deter future violations.
Since 1972, it has been illegal for agencies like MSD to discharge untreated (raw) sewage from sanitary sewer overflows into the waters of the United States. In 1992, twenty-years after the Federal Water Pollution Control Act outlawed these overflows, the Ohio EPA Director, issued an administrative order to MSD to eliminate “unpermitted discharges from overflows in separate sanitary sewers.”
Almost ten years later, thirty years after this conduct was first outlawed, MSD maintains over 100 illegal sanitary sewer overflows. Some of these SSOs overflow in extreme wet weather events, some of them overflow month-in and month-out and some even spill out raw sewage in dry weather. Over the years, MSD has eliminated some SSOs and has intentionally created new ones. MSD is required to keep track of these illegal discharge points and report them to OEPA.
In 1995, an Ohio EPA staff person wrote in a memo to his supervisor: “Ohio EPA has a consistent statewide position on separate sanitary sewer overflows – they are illegal and their elimination is addressed through enforcement.” In 1997, another OEPA staff person wrote to his supervisor “Having witnessed the overflow behind General Electric (known as SSO #700), I am quite frustrated…(with) the agency…I believe that resolution now requires a high level management decision…(staff) morale is not good.” Five years later, the situation remains the same.
According to a 1995 OEPA study, “Biological and Water Quality Study of the Little Miami River and Selected Tributaries”: “Pollutant discharges from spills, overflows, permit violations, and other unauthorized releases are a significant source of lethal and sublethal stresses for aquatic communities in the Little Miami River Watershed…The Little Miami River watershed…receives periodic discharges of untreated sewage and other pollutants through SSOs within the Hamilton County Metropolitan Sewer District….”
According to the EPA, health risks associated with SSOs to our waters are exposure to bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens. Exposure to raw sewage can be more severe for children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems. Some SSOs can form puddles and muddy areas that can attract children or pets. Raw sewage may contain metals, synthetic chemicals, pesticides, and oils, which also can be detrimental to the health of humans and wildlife.
The lack of sewage carrying capacity in the MSD system is also related to the serious flooding problems and the backup of sewage into residents’ homes and yards.
Sierra Club, the nation’s oldest conservation organization with 50 state chapters and hundreds of local groups, has 700,000 members nationwide. The Cincinnati-area Miami Group has over 4,000 members.
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