Massachusetts Sewer District Agrees to Improve Sewage Treatment System, Pay Fine
Federal and state environmental officials announce a sweeping agreement with the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District in northeastern Massachusetts, settling alleged violations of clean water laws and government-issued permits.
Under a civil Complaint and Consent Decree filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District (GLSD) will pay a $254,000 fine and invest in an $18 million sewage treatment plant upgrade. These steps resolve allegations that GLSD’s combined sewer collection system had discharges from “combined sewer overflow” (CSO) outfalls, violating state water quality standards for fecal coliform bacteria and indicating a significant human health risk.
Combined sewer overflow discharges generally occur during or after significant rainstorms, when a mixture of storm water and domestic waste exceeds the flow capacity of the combined sewer system and causes the release of untreated sewage into the environment.
The improvements to the treatment plant will help protect public health and the aquatic ecosystem of the Merrimack and Spicket Rivers and also benefit Lawrence and other downstream communities by reducing the number of times that sewer waste is discharged during rainy weather in the areas where people fish and recreate.
According to the settlement under the Clean Water Act, GLSD will pay a total penalty of $254,000 ($127,000 to the United States and $127,000 to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts). The District will be required to increase its monthly average treatment plant capacity from 52 million gallons per day (MGD) to a maximum peak secondary treatment capacity of 135 MGD by December 31, 2007, thereby significantly reducing the number of CSO discharge events annually.
The GLSD owns and operates a 52-MGD secondary treatment plant in North Andover, MA, serving member communities of Lawrence, Methuen, Andover, and North Andover, as well as Salem, NH. The treatment plant discharges to the Merrimack River. In addition to the treatment plant, GLSD owns and operates an interceptor sewer system designed to receive wastewater flow from the member communities. The interceptor sewer system includes five CSO outfalls that discharge a mixture of wastewater and storm water to the Merrimack and Spicket Rivers during wet weather when the capacity of the treatment works and conveyance is exceeded.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts also moved to intervene and filed its own Complaint.
GLSD’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit prohibits discharges that cause or contribute to violations of water quality standards. The civil Complaint alleges that GLSD failed to comply with the federal Clean Water Act in operation of its wastewater treatment facility and violated its NPDES permit by exceeding limits for fecal coliform bacteria. The discharges are located in a densely developed area of Lawrence where people fish and boat near and downstream of the discharge locations. Shellfish beds downstream from the discharge points are also affected. In a typical year there are about 14 discharge events, during which the CSO outfalls discharge approximately 112 million gallons of combined sewage.
Also required in the settlement, GLSD must submit a post-construction monitoring report to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Massachusetts by March 31, 2009, that evaluates the effectiveness of the increased capacity at reducing discharges from CSO outfalls. Finally, GLSD must submit a revised Long-Term Control Plan to EPA and Massachusetts by June 30, 2010.
