12-09-13 Common Council Agenda & Packet

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City of South Bend - Indiana Settlement I Enforcement I US EPA Page 2 of 4 South Bend owns and operates a combined sewer system in northern Indiana. South Bend's waste water treatment plant discharges to the St. Joseph River. Top of Page Violations • Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) resulting in the discharge of pollutants without a permit and, thus, violating Section 301 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. § 1311. • Failure to comply with conditions of a permit issued pursuant to CWA Section 402, 33 U.S.C. § 1342. Top of Page Injunctive Relief The consent decree requires South Bend to implement a Long Term Control Plan (LTCP) by 2031. The LTCP includes wastewater treatment plant upgrades and collection system improvements. Currently, South Bend annually discharges into the St. Joseph River a total of over 2 billion gallons of untreated sewage during approximately 80 events. After implementing the improvements required under the settlement, South Bend will reduce the number of raw sewage discharge events by 95 percent to only four during a typical year of rainfall. The reduced discharges will result in preventing over 700,000 pounds of pollutants from entering the St. Joseph River each year. Top of Page Pollutants Reductions • Total Suspended Solids = 566,916 lbs /year • Biological Oxygen Demand = 141,729 lbs /year Top of Page Health and Environmental Effects Total Suspended Solids (TSS) — TSS indicates the measure of suspended solids in wastewater, effluent or water bodies. High levels of TSS in a water body can diminish the amount of light that penetrates the water column and reduce photosynthesis and the production of oxygen. • Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) — BOD is an indirect measure of the biologically degradable material present in organic wastes. High BOD means there is an abundance of biologically degradable material that will http:/ /www2.epa.gov /enforeement/city- south - bend - indiana- settlement 1 11/26/2013