The Sewage Overflow Community Right to Know Act part of the larger Water Quality Investment Act

Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel enthusiastically cast his vote on Thursday for the Water Quality Investment Act – which includes his co-sponsored Sewage Overflow Community Right to Know Act. The entire bill passed the full House on Thursday by a vote of 317-101, and now awaits passage by the Senate.

“The Water Quality Investment Act is important legislation designed to address our national need for wastewater infrastructure. I am pleased it contains language, for which I fought hard, to protect Americans from the hazards of sewage overflow. There is no current public notification requirement for sewer overflows, so public health agencies and drinking water suppliers are often unaware when overflows contaminate waterways. This is unacceptable and this legislation will make sure neighborhoods are notified and families are kept safe,” said Rep. Engel.

The legislation will establish requirements for sewer operators to notify the public, public health officials, and downstream drinking water intakes when sewage is present in public waters near drinking water intakes, and where people swim, fish and boat. EPA estimates that sewer overflows discharge roughly 850 billion gallons of raw or partially treated sewage annually into local waters. For separate sanitary sewer systems, EPA estimates that between 23,000 and 75,000 sewage overflows occur each year in the United States, discharging a total volume of three to 10 billion gallons annually. These discharges, laden with potentially harmful chemicals and pathogens, often end up in local rivers, lakes, streams, and the ocean.

“People that ingest inadequately treated sewage can contract a wide range of diseases. According to federal and state agencies, millions of Americans each year suffer such from such ingestion,” said Rep. Engel. “Sewage operators eligible for federal clean water funds will be required to monitor for, and provide timely notification of sewer overflows to federal and state agencies, public health officials, and the public.”

In addition to providing for the sewage overflow notification, the Water Quality Investment Act also provides the following:

* Reauthorizing the vital Clean Water State Revolving Fund. These provisions authorize $13.8 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund over the next five years -- if its authorizations are fully appropriated, creating about 480,000 jobs over this five-year period.
* Authorizes $250 million for pilot projects for increasing usable water supply over the next five years.
* Authorizes $1.8 billion for sewer overflow control grants over the next five years.

“It is almost absurd to believe the public hasn’t been notified when raw sewage is potentially in their drinking supply. In this day and age, to have this problem is a serious indictment of how long our infrastructure has been ignored. This is a critical and important step along the path of revitalizing our nation and preparing us for the future,” said Rep. Engel.