{"id":14740,"date":"2015-08-18T11:26:34","date_gmt":"2015-08-18T18:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=14740"},"modified":"2015-08-18T14:42:34","modified_gmt":"2015-08-18T21:42:34","slug":"water-quality-authority-agrees-to-reduce-overflow-sewage-into-the-delaware-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=14740","title":{"rendered":"Water Quality Authority Agrees to Reduce Overflow Sewage into the Delaware River"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Environmental<\/a><\/p>\n

PENNSYLVANIA<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

A Pennsylvania water authority agreed to significantly reduce overflows of sewage into the Delaware River, which, authorities say, will improve the water quality of the river, Chester Creek and the Ridley Creek near Philadelphia, officials said Monday.<\/p>\n

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the Delaware County Regional Water Quality Control Authority<\/strong> will spend as much as $200 million to set up an overflow plan that complies with the terms of the Clean Water Act, officials said.<\/p>\n

County Regional Water Quality has 20 years to complete the necessary controls, officials said.<\/p>\n

In addition, County Regional Water Quality must pay a $1.3 million penalty for prior violations, which will be split between the federal government and the state of Pennsylvania, a co-plaintiff in this case, according to authorities.<\/p>\n

The settlement<\/a> addresses longstanding problems with County Regional Water Quality sewer system, which when inundated with stormwater, discharges raw sewage, industrial waste, nitrogen, phosphorus and polluted stormwater into Chester Creek, Ridley Creek and the Delaware River.<\/p>\n

Regional Water Quality discharges about 739 million gallons of sewage into the water, officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis important agreement will protect residents from sewers that discharge raw sewage and other contaminants into local waterways,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department\u2019s Environment and Natural Resources Division<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u201cIt is the latest in a series of settlements with municipalities across the country to address aging and inadequate sewer infrastructure, particularly in older communities where residents have had to deal with sewer overflows for generations. \u00a0Agreements like this one are a victory for environmental justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here are the health hazards involving exposure to raw sewage, according to authorities:<\/strong><\/p>\n