[StBernard] Compliance and Enforcement News Release (Region 6): Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans Agrees to Reinstate Program

[Westley Annis]

Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans Agrees to Reinstate Program 

to Improve Sewage System Damaged by Hurricane Katrina 

(WASHINGTON - January 27, 2010)  The Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans
has agreed to reinstate its comprehensive program - stalled for several
years in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina - to make extensive improvements
to reduce or eliminate sewage overflows into the Mississippi River, Lake
Pontchartrain and its storm drainage canal system, the Justice Department
and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today. 

According to a Clean Water Act settlement filed today that modifies a
1998-agreement, the Sewerage & Water Board, which operates the publicly
owned treatment works that serves the citizens of New Orleans, has agreed to
continue to repair its antiquated sewage collection system.  Prior to 1998,
the system had been overwhelmed causing overflows of raw sewage into
waterways and streets of New Orleans.  Those efforts were put on hold for
several years due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. 

"For many years, until Hurricane Katrina, the Sewerage & Water Board was
making great strides in repairing its outdated collection system in
compliance with the 1998 agreement," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant
Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural
Resources Division. "We are pleased that, despite the devastating effects of
the hurricane, the board has agreed to continue its aggressive remediation
program in order to protect the public health and make the waterways safe
for the people of New Orleans." 

"We have agreed on an aggressive plan which will greatly help New Orleans'
system deliver better service to residents while it protects the
environment," said EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz. "Protecting
America's waters is a priority at EPA.  We are pleased the Sewage & Water
Board shares our strong commitment to clean water." 

As part of its ongoing remediation program, estimated to cost more than $400
million from its inception in 1998, the board has agreed to repair all of
its 62 pump stations damaged by the hurricane, as well as any other
hurricane damage in the portions of the collection system served by those
pump stations.  By no later than July 2015, the board will complete
additional studies required by EPA and make all necessary  repairs and
upgrades to its collection system, including measures designed to provide
dependable electrical services at its treatment plant in the event of a
future catastrophic event.  

The board will also design and implement a new preventive maintenance plan
to inspect and clean its sewer lines and pump stations to prevent sewage
overflows, and will continue efforts under its sewage overflow action plan
designed to minimize the impact of such overflows on the environment. 

In addition, now that the system serves only about 60 percent of people that
it served before Katrina hit, the board has agreed to report each year on
population changes and to evaluate any need for increased capacity for its
pump stations, force mains and treatment plant. 

The 1998 agreement resolved a 1993 lawsuit brought by the United States
alleging violations of the Clean Water Act including effluent overflows at
the East Bank treatment plant and unauthorized discharges from the East Bank
Collection System.  A coalition of citizens groups under the direction of
the Tulane Law Clinic has joined the government in the action and is part of
the modified settlement.  The state of Louisiana also has participated in
this settlement. 

The modified consent decree, lodged today in the U.S. District Court for the
Eastern District of Louisiana, is subject to 30-day public comment period
and approval by the court.   A copy of the consent decree is available on
the Justice Department web site at
http://wwww.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html
<http://wwww.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html> .