Pennsylvania Green: State legislatures are working hard in Pennsylvania this week to push bills through the House to tag State funds for large sewage infrastructure overhauls. It seems to be a step in the right direction, but officials are warning residents and county officials to be patient. While a combination of bills could ensure at least $800 million or more of the state budget is dedicated to sewage improvements, this is only a fraction of what is needed in the state. "It'll take some time," says State Representative Robert Belfanti. "You can't do all of Pennsylvania's water and sewage problems in one year. It's a long-term project." But at least they are making headway. Change has to start somewhere right?
- July 3, 2008. The News Item - Harrisburg, PA

And now, the Spills of the Week:

Costly Mistake: The state of Florida fined the city of Panama City Beach $15,900 this week for a March spill which released approximately 1.5 million gallons of sewage into Grand Lagoon. While this fine may appear large, beach officials are actually quite pleased with the amount, having expected a much higher fine. All things considered, this spill went as all unavoidable spills should. The spill occurred due to an accidental rupture of a sewer line during some construction on the beachfront. Not unavoidable per se, but accidents do happen right? Beach officials immediately informed the authorities, and the city spent $300,000 to quickly clean up the spill. Perhaps with more people and corporations owning up to their mistakes like this, and not contesting their fines, more spills could be cleaned up as efficiently as this one.
- June 28, 2008. Panama City News Herald - Panama City, FL

Sludge Settlements: The U.S. EPA and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) reached a settlement this week, after the EPA condemned the MWRA for allowing the Deer Island sewage treatment plant to bypass more than 22 billion gallons of partially treated sewage over a period of seven years. From its construction in 2001, the plant was meant to put as much sewage a possible through a secondary treatment process, to "remove contaminates, and allow further biological breakdown of sewage." This, according to records between 2001 and 2005, never even began to happen. From the outset, the plant released more waste, and processed less, contributing to the overall degradation of the Boston Harbor where the waste water flows. The MWRA has agreed to pay a $305,000 fine, as well as fund three more Supplemental Environmental Projects, to further revitalize the waters of the Boston Harbor.
- July 1, 2008. U.S. EPA - Boston, MA

Flushing our Way to Destruction: Nitorgen-leaking septic tanks along the Lower Hood basin in northwest Washington State have been flagged as one of the causes of oxygen deficiency in the waters of the Hood Canal. The irony is not missed in this situation as the people who were drawn to the area by the pristine waters of the canal are now causing its demise. What is happening in the canal is a poster example of excessive nutrient loading. Excess nitrogen in the water allows algae to thrive causing algal blooms, which suck up all the oxygen in the water, oxygen that fish need to survive. In this case the deficiency is so large that large fish kills are occurring, and the public is taking notice. While septic tanks are by no means the only cause, there is much that could be done to update old systems in the area to curb the unnecessary leakage.
- July 1, 2008. The Seattle Times - Seattle, WA

Suing over Sewage: The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) issued the federally mandated 60 day warning of its intent to sue the city of Stockton, California, Wednesday, citing a shocking 1,500 illegal sewage overflows and spills over the past five years into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Not a number that can be explained away, if you ask me. "The city's failure to provide adequate facilities and acceptable levels of maintenance for wastewater control indicates an outrageous and egregious disregard for the health of Stockton's residents and poses a clear threat to the integrity and survival of the Delta's fish and wildlife resources," says CSPA Executive Director, Bill Jennings. You can't really conveniently not notice over a thousand spills, now can you? It'll be interesting to see how this turns out.
- July 3, 2008. Central Valley Business Times - Stockton, CA

Residential Runoff: Excess water from large storm, mixed with raw sewage from a local salad dressing factory flooded at least 10 Columbus homes on Wednesday. Storm was the usual culprit for this small scale spill, but Michael Dalton, an on-scene coordinator for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has a different theory. "What happens is that the city allows a lot of construction in an area but doesn't have the money to replace the sewer system," he comments. This is a basic cause and effect situation, it seems to me, but like so many other instances, logic has apparently given up the fight and yielded to politics. Easy solutions aren't ever as easy as they could be are they?
- July 2, 2008. United Press International - Columbus, OH