EPA Orders Buffalo Sewer Authority to Reduce Water Pollution

EPA Orders Buffalo Sewer Authority to Reduce Water Pollution in Niagara River

Four Billion Gallons of Sewage and Wastewater Pollutes Niagara River and Tributaries Every Year

Contact: Mike Basile (716) 551-4410; basile.michael@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – March 15, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the Buffalo Sewer Authority in Buffalo, New York to comply with federal Clean Water Act requirements for combined sewer systems to protect people’s health and water quality. Combined sewer systems carry domestic sewage, stormwater runoff and industrial wastewater in the same pipes. During periods of heavy rain, they can overflow and send untreated sewage and toxic materials into local waters. The Buffalo Sewer Authority violated its environmental permit issued by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which required it to submit a plan on how the city would reduce the amount of sewage and other pollutants that flow out of 52 combined sewer points into the Niagara River and its tributaries.

“Sewage Pollution in the Niagara River is degrading water quality and having a direct effect on the quality of people’s lives,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “Local fish are inedible and people can’t enjoy recreational water sports or local parks because of sewage odors. Buffalo has made improvements to its combined system in recent years, but much more must be done to protect people’s health and water quality.”

“This Order is an important step to improve the water quality of the Niagara River and to help with the economic revitalization of the City of Buffalo. We look forward to receiving the Authority’s Long-Term Control Plan to reduce CSO discharges. We expect this plan will include green infrastructure projects that will help restore the health of the river,” said DEC Commissioner Joseph Martens.

“This Order is an important step to improve the water quality of the Niagara River and to help with the economic revitalization of the City of Buffalo,” said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens. “We look forward to receiving the Authority’s Long-Term Control Plan to reduce CSO discharges. We expect this plan will include green infrastructure projects that will help restore the health of the river.”

During periods of heavy rainfall or snowmelt, the volume of wastewater in a combined sewer system can exceed the capacity of the sewer system or wastewater treatment plant. When this happens, combined sewer systems overflow and discharge excess wastewater directly to nearby water bodies. These overflows contain not only stormwater, but also untreated human and industrial waste, toxic materials and debris. It is estimated that Buffalo’s combined system contributes almost four billion gallons of combined sewage overflow to the Niagara River and its tributaries each year.

Under its current state-issued permit, the Buffalo Sewer Authority discharges from its wastewater treatment plant outfalls and from combined sewer overflow points into the Niagara River, Black Rock Canal, Erie Basin, Buffalo River, Scajaquada Creek, Cazenovia Creek and Cornelius Creek. The Buffalo Sewer Authority's 1999 permit required it to develop a Long Term Control Plan, to manage its combined sewage. Long Term Control Plans generally call for system characterization, the development and evaluation of alternatives, and the selection and implementation of controls that reduce water pollution. The plans must consider the costs and effectiveness of reducing the number of overflows and the amounts discharged, as well as water quality improvements. The plans are part of a phased approach for the control of combined sewer overflows that will ultimately meet state water quality standards for the local water bodies.

The Buffalo Sewer Authority was required to submit its plan to reduce sewage discharges by July 1, 2001. The NYSDEC reissued and modified the discharge permit, giving the Buffalo Sewer Authority more time to submit its plan. The authority submitted a plan in July 2004, which was 3 years ate and inadequate.

The legal order issued by the EPA requires the Buffalo Sewage Authority to submit to DEC and EPA by April 30, 2012 an approvable Long Term Control Plan that proposes sewer system improvements to ensure that combined sewer overflows comply with technology and water quality-based requirements. The Buffalo Sewer Authority could face penalties if it does not comply with the order.

The EPA order also requires the Buffalo Sewer Authority to develop a financial plan that addresses project, capital and costs and to detail a strategy to meet water quality standards. The projected cost of the Buffalo Sewer Authority’s implementation of an approvable Long Term Control Plan could be as much as $500 million dollars over 15 years, depending on the alternatives chosen for implementation.

EPA and DEC are encouraging the Buffalo Sewer Authority to incorporate green infrastructure projects such as increased open space, rain barrels and rain gardens, permeable pavements and sidewalks, green roofs and urban trees into its plan. Using green infrastructure helps reduce the amount of combined sewer overflows by stopping runoff pollution at its source. Many of these methods have the added benefit of improving urban quality of life, lowering heating and cooling costs and improving air quality.

For more information about combined sewer overflows and to read a recent EPA report on the issue, visit

http://www.epa.gov/region2/water/sewer-report-3-2011.pdf

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/eparegion2 and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2.

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News Release from EPA - NJ Impaired Waters

EPA Approves New Jersey’s List of Polluted Water Bodies

Sewage Pollution Continues to be a Major Problem in New Jersey

Contact: John Martin (212) 637- 3662 martin.johnj@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – February 28, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved the 2010 list of waters in New Jersey that are considered either impaired or threatened by pollutants. An impaired water body is one that does not meet federal water quality standards even after pollution controls have been put in place. A threatened water body is one that is expected to be impaired within two years. The list helps establish priorities for addressing threats from water pollution.

“Identifying and prioritizing the state’s most seriously polluted waters are important steps in our work to reduce water pollution,” said Judith Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. "New Jersey faces serious water quality challenges including the need to reduce pollution from combined sewer systems that allow raw sewage to flow into waterways when it rains. By upgrading old infrastructure and implementing green infrastructure strategies, New Jersey communities can improve water quality.”

The Clean Water Act requires states to assess the quality of their waters and to report their findings to the EPA every two years. The list is compiled by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and is a valuable tool for reaching the Clean Water Act goal of “fishable and swimmable” waters for all of New Jersey.

The list specifically includes impaired waters for which the development of budgets for the amount of water pollution allowed is necessary. The budgets define the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards. They are developed by states and approved by the EPA once the agency determines that the budget will allow the water body to achieve water quality standards.

The most common pollutants causing impairment in New Jersey water bodies include PCBs (8.33%), dissolved oxygen (8.19%), phosphorus (7.86%), pH (7.62%), and arsenic (6.89%). New Jersey’s 2010 list identifies 2,112 instances in which a pollutant is causing an impairment of a water body that keeps it from supporting its “designated use” for drinking water, swimming and recreation, fishing or other activities specified by the state.

The list also notes the most common sources of water pollutants, which include urban/stormwater runoff, combined sewer overflows from systems that capture both domestic sewage and stormwater, and air pollution, including acid rain. A pollutant may come from more than one source.

In 2010, new pollutants were included for waters in the basins of the Hudson River, the Passaic River, the Raritan River, the Delaware Bay, and others. The EPA will continue to work with state and local governments to ensure that impaired waters are cleaned up.

A complete list of impaired waters in New Jersey is available at: http://www.epa.gov/region02/water/waterbodies

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MOEX Offshore Agrees to $90 Million Partial Settlement

News release from EPA:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17, 2012
MOEX Offshore Agrees to $90 Million Partial Settlement of Liability in Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
$70 million penalty is largest under the Clean Water Act; MOEX also to perform Gulf conservation projects worth at least $20 million
 

WASHINGTON – MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC has agreed to settle its liability in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in a settlement with the United States valued at $90 million, announced the Department of Justice, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today.  Approximately $45 million of the $90 million settlement is going directly to the Gulf in the form of penalties or expedited environmental projects.

According to the terms of the settlement, MOEX will pay $70 million in civil penalties to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act resulting from the spill and agreed to spend $20 million to facilitate land acquisition projects in several Gulf states that will preserve and protect in perpetuity habitat and resources important to water quality and other environmental features of the Gulf of Mexico region.  At the time of the spill, MOEX was a minority investor in the lease for the Macondo well. It no longer owns any share of the lease.

The terms of today’s settlement do not affect the potential liability of – or recoveries from – other parties involved in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Beginning with a well blowout and explosion on April 20, 2010, the owners and operators of the Macondo Well and  the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon allowed millions of barrels of oil to escape into the Gulf of Mexico, affecting the entire region.  Oil spills can cause both immediate and long-term harm to people’s health and the environment.  The Clean Water Act provides for civil penalties for such discharges.  This is the largest civil penalty ever recovered under the Clean Water Act.

“The Department of Justice has not wavered in its commitment to hold all responsible parties fully accountable for what stands as the largest oil spill in U.S. history,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.  “This landmark settlement is an important step – but only a first step – toward achieving accountability and protecting the future of the Gulf ecosystem by funding critical habitat preservation projects.”

“This will move the Gulf Coast along in its recovery as it continues to rebound from the largest spill in U.S. history,” said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp.  “The settlement demonstrates our firm commitment to  hold accountable those who pollute our environment.”

“This is good news for the Gulf Coast communities that are continuing to rebuild their economy and restore their ecosystem. This administration is going to stand with the people here to ensure a full recovery from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Dedicating funds to actions that restore the local waters is a vital part of restoring these communities.  As someone who grew up on the Gulf Coast, I know how important clean water is to the lives and livelihoods of the people here, and I know we need to take every possible action to get the ecosystem here on a path to long-term restoration.”

As part of the settlement, MOEX Offshore has agreed to pay $70 million in civil penalties, of which, $45 million will go to the United States.  The money will go toward replenishing the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, where by law it will be available to pay for response actions, cleanup and damages caused by future spills.  The remaining penalty will go to Gulf states that participate in the settlement.  Those states will receive penalty payments as follows: $6.75 million to Louisiana, $5 million each to Alabama, Florida and Mississippi, and $3.25 million to Texas.

MOEX Offshore has also agreed to secure and protect properties of ecological significance for the Gulf habitats.  MOEX Offshore will ensure that properties within the states of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Florida are transferred to – or acquired by – state governments, non-profit groups, land trusts or other appropriate entities, to protect those properties from development.  In all, these projects are expected to cost at least $20 million. The negotiation process with MOEX included numerous discussions with the Gulf states, who have been indispensible in reaching this important agreement.

This settlement does not affect the government’s claims against any other defendant in the Deepwater Horizon lawsuit that was filed on Dec. 15, 2010.  The trial of the first phase of the case is set to begin in federal district court in New Orleans on Feb. 27, 2012.

MOEX Offshore is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the MOEX USA Corporation.  Mitsui Oil Exploration Co. Ltd. is the corporate parent of MOEX USA, which in turn is owned by Mitsui & Co. Ltd. of Japan.

The proposed settlement, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, is subject to a 30-day comment period and final court approval.

More information on the settlement: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/caa/moex.html