A consent decree will require the city of Lakewood, Ohio, to significantly reduce the discharge of untreated sewage from its sewer system into Lake Erie and the Rocky River.
The settlement is part of an interim partial consent decree, announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which was filed in federal court in the Northern District of Ohio on Nov. 1.
“Discharges of untreated sewage can damage local water bodies and sicken community members who come in contact,” says Larry Starfield, EPA’s acting assistant administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This settlement will benefit Lakewood and other Ohio communities by preventing the discharge of millions of gallons of untreated sewage from entering the Rocky River and Lake Erie.”
The decree requires Lakewood to complete construction of a high-rate treatment system that will treat combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and build two large storage basins to hold millions of gallons of wastewater until it can be sent to the wastewater treatment plant.
Under the decree, Lakewood will spend about $85 million to improve its sewer system and will also pay a civil penalty of $100,000, split evenly between the United States and Ohio.
The decree would partially resolve the violations alleged in the underlying complaint filed by the United States and the State of Ohio.
The complaint alleges that Lakewood discharged untreated sanitary sewage into the Rocky River or directly into Lake Erie on at least 1,933 occasions from January 2016 through the present. The complaint also alleges that, on numerous occasions from January 2016 through the present, Lakewood discharged water from combined sewer outfalls that violated the effluent limitations included in its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.
Under the decree, Lakewood will conduct multiple pipe lining and repair projects within its sewer system designed to eliminate causes of sanitary sewer overflows. Lakewood will also undertake a sampling pilot study designed to identify sewage in stormwater outfalls and a one-year post-construction monitoring program, which will provide the data needed for future work in Lakewood’s sewer system.
EPA says that, while this decree will resolve all civil penalty claims, it will not fully resolve the injunctive relief claims alleged in the complaint. The agency says that a subsequent, enforceable agreement with the United States and the state of Ohio will require Lakewood to implement a plan that addresses the remaining permitted and unpermitted overflows in Lakewood’s sewer system and to demonstrate compliance with the Clean Water Act.
