TOLEDO, OH – At the Collins Park Wastewater Treatment Plant today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced a plan to help communities in Northwest Ohio improve water quality. Brown was joined by Ed Beczynski, owner of The Blarney and Focaccia’s in Toledo, who discussed the impact last summer’s water crisis had on his business.
“We need to do more to address water quality at its source, by preventing the toxic runoff that causes the algal blooms,” Brown said. “But we also need to help the communities across Ohio that are struggling to afford expensive – but vital – renovations to outdated sewer systems. Too often, systems go without updates and repairs, and result in water contamination, like we have seen in Lake Erie. That’s why I will soon re-introduce the Clean Water Affordability Act, which would lead to cleaner water and promote economic development. It’s in everyone’s interest to ensure a clean Lake Erie.”
Brown was also joined by Toledo Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson and Chuck Campbell, acting commissioner of plant operations, to discuss how Brown’s legislation could help communities reduce future water and sewer rate increases and attract new businesses, create jobs, and protect the environment.
Federal guidelines require municipalities to renovate outdated combined sewage overflow systems to protect human health and the environment, but upgrades often prove costly for many communities. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), communities across the nation face an estimated $63 billion shortfall for combined sewage overflow renovations. These projects represent more than 25 percent of all wastewater needs reported in the most recent EPA needs survey.
The Clean Water Affordability Act is aimed at updating the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) clean water affordability policy, which can put undue strain on the budgets of local communities. The current EPA affordability policy does not provide for a full and accurate representation of the financial impacts of clean water investment programs on communities struggling to meet federal regulations for improving their water infrastructure.
The bill would authorize $1.8 billion over five years for a grant program to help financially distressed communities update their aging infrastructure. The program would provide a 75-25 cost share for municipalities to use for planning, design, and construction of treatment works to control combined and sanitary sewer overflows. The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), which represents the sewer districts, has endorsed the legislation.
The legislation would also:
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