I just had to share two recent events that illustrate the importance of passing sewage spill right-to-know legislation in addition to the ones mentioned in previous posts. On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of gallons of sewage spilled into Tampa Bay and yet local residents were unaware of what happened and of the potential health risks. One resident stated:

"If there's something hazardous that could affect our family or sons, anybody human, they should definitely put a warning or come and tell us or notify somebody that something has went wrong"

State law in Florida is weak in the area of public notification for sewage spills, and another Tampa Bay citizen made a clear case for adopting right-to-know:

I'm not happy about it," said Adriana Conner, whose home backs up to the ditch. "They should have told us I had no idea until you [the media] came and told us. They should let us know."

In another locale, residents in Virginia were also unhappy to find out about health risks from a sewage spill in their stream after the fact. Said one parent whose children had been playing in Massaponax Creek, home to repeated sewage overflows, after a recent spill:

"We're not the only people who play in the creek. Every time I go down there, there are teenagers and dogs swimming in the creek," Sims said. "I'm very upset that the county waited this long [to alert residents] and there are potential health risks to our whole family now."

People really gotta know... it's only fair to warn people of the "severe public health implications" of sewage overflows when they happen instead of after their swim.