U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown has introduced a new bill that would provide substantial funding to sewage plants in Ohio that remain outdated.
Athens County officials were able to breathe a sigh of relief two weeks ago when Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced that he was reintroducing a bill to protect drinking water, which would provide $1.8 billion over a five-year period to 73 communities with dangerously outdated sewage systems.
Athens is not one of the 73 that could be assisted.
According to Rich Kasler, superintendent of the Athens County Water and Sewage District, the facility is fully compliant with current EPA standards, and is even undergoing updates in its raw sewage screen-filtering system.
But the outdated systems statewide, known as combined sewage overflows, collect both sewage and storm water and are known to overflow when heavy rain occurs, leading to pollution of natural drinking water sources.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that about 850 billion gallons of untreated wastewater and stormwater are released through CSOs each year in the United States.
“It poses a threat to public health and undermines the competitiveness of our businesses, so the needs are great,” Brown said in a press release. “All Ohioans deserve access to clean water... this bill is about helping local governments make these renovations and investing in Ohio’s long-term economic development.”
Kasler described Athens County’s sewage as a human stomach, mixing sewage with bacteria, chlorine, and sulfur to break down hazardous compounds before the water is returned to the Hocking River.
“Our solution to pollution is dilution,” Kasler said.
Brown’s legislation will be known as the Clean Water Affordability Act, and comes in response to the toxic algal blooms that continue to threaten Toledo’s water supply, due in part to sewage pollution.
Lauren Kulik, spokeswoman for Brown, said he has introduced the bill multiple times since 2008, but it has never reached the floor for a full Senate vote.
Kulik said the number of communities in need for updated water systems have gradually decreased since then, but Brown has continued to push for the remaining 73 communities that still lack fiscal resources.
Brown also joined Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) this month to develop the Safe and Secure Drinking Water Act, which would require the EPA to publish reports on the exact level of algae byproducts in freshwater bodies that is still safe for human consumption.
The EPA has been working to develop a federal limit for several years, but has yet to issue an exact limit, the press release said.
Kasler, however, is not concerned about pollution to the Hocking River caused by the Athens County sewage plant.
“It can happen to any plant,” Kasler said. “But it’s very rare that we would get so much storm water that our system couldn’t take it.”
@MCTilton
mt522913@ohio.edu
