12/30/2011 EPA, City sign consent decree

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When the City of South Bend began negotiations with the EPA in 2003, discharge levels into the St. Joseph River were about 2 billion gallons per year. By 2010,through early action the City had reduced that volume to 750 million gallons per year. The volume of overflows will be reduced by 95 percent from the starting baseline overflow in a typical year. The number of CSO events will be reduced to 4 per year. South Bend will be held to 4 overflow per year level of control and has two windows of opportunity through innovative technology and green solutions for reducing the $ 509.5 million cost estimate of the default CSO Long Term Control Plan. "By substantially reducing the volume of untreated sewage and pollutants entering the St. Joseph River, this settlement will improve water quality and protect the health of people who use that river," said United States Attorney David Capp. "South Bend is making a major investment in improving its sewage collection and treatment system that will pay off in better protection of public health and a cleaner river." "This consent decree requires South Bend to prevent the flow of raw sewage into the St. Joseph River," said EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman. "When the city completes the work required under this settlement, the water will be cleaner and healthier for those who paddle and fish in the river." City sewer rates have risen in recent years after many years with no rate increases, a time when investment in environmental infrastructure of an aging sewer system lagged. Typical residential sewer bills rose from about $17 per month in 2005 to $34 per month in 2011. Those bills will increase about 8 percent per year through 2013 to fund mandated improvements, reaching $42 per month. Over the 20-year period for implementation of the consent decree, rates will continue to rise in South Bend and in 800 other CSO communities that face these requirements. South Bend's rates will remain competitive with surrounding communities. In the current four- year funding period already approved by the Mayor and Common Council,the City will invest another $70 million to complete the $102,193,000 of work projected by the City to meet EPA requirements for Phase 1. In Phase 2 between 2014 and 2031,the City will spend $367.7 million. Mandated features of the long-term control plan include: • Upgrading the capacity of the Wastewater Treatment Plant to 100 million gallons per day, matching the wet-weather capacity of the existing storm-sewer interceptor,the primary sewer line conveying outflow to the wastewater treatment plant. • The addition of seven new storage tanks, a storage conduit as well as a 12,000-foot storage and conveyance mechanism running parallel to the existing interceptor from CSO 6 at Leland Avenue and Riverside Drive to the Wastewater Treatment Plant. • Construction of a storage conduit running parallel to the river from the Howard Park Ice Rink to CSO 25 at North Shore Drive and Lafayette Boulevard An additional challenge facing South Bend is the requirement to control its disinfection rate to achieve water quality standards at the Michigan state line —about 2.6 miles from the Wastewater Treatment Plant.