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Sunday, January 30, 2011
Environment - "Is the Gary Sanitary District turning Lake Michigan into sewer? "
A lengthy story today in the Gary Post Tribune, reported by Gitte Laasby. Some quotes:
GARY -- Over the past three years, the Gary Sanitary District has discharged at least 6.8 billion gallons of raw and partially treated sewage to the bacteria-impaired Grand Calumet River and the flood-prone Little Calumet River, according to a Post-Tribune analysis of state data.And there's no end in sight. Neither the state or federal government has set a deadline for Gary to reduce its overflows and treatment bypasses.
The federal government says it's negotiating a legal agreement with Gary, but hasn't reached one since it started trying five years ago. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management hasn't issued a single fine against the district for its more than 600 combined sewer overflows and bypasses since 2008. * * *
Municipalities traditionally stop sewer overflows by separating storm and sanitary sewers. That increases capacity and avoids releasing untreated sanitary sewage. But the cost to do so is in the tens of millions of dollars, and the incentive can be small if enforcement is limited. The city of Hobart recently accepted a fine of $1,000 from IDEM for a 3-million-gallon overflow.
"That $1,000 pales in comparison. So if you're under a tight budget versus millions of dollars to make these improvements, maybe a little more enforcement is in order," said [Jennifer] Nebe from Save the Dunes. "These upgrades are so costly ... and nobody likes to hear about taxes being raised or new fees on their bills, but this money has to come from somewhere. When people hear about sewage being discharged, I think they might start to understand the need for these fees."
[Henry Henderson, Midwest director for the Natural Resources Defense Council] said many other cities on the Great Lakes, including Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit are facing issues to similar Gary. Researchers estimate 24 billion gallons of sewage get dumped into the Great Lakes each year. Some communities are now finding money to reduce that by simultaneously addressing sanitary infrastructure needs, transportation needs and energy costs.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 30, 2011 11:07 AM
Posted to Environment