After EPA rejection, it

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Now, the has until March 25 to come up with a new and more costly plan tokeep Cincinnati’s aging sewersd from overflowing into local rivers and streams. The upgrades were ordered by a 2004 consentf decree that settled an EPA lawsuit alleginyg the sewer system violated the federal CleanbWater Act. The sewer district was hopinbg to userain gardens, green roofs and othere natural solutions to divert water from the The EPA instead has pushedr for construction of a 5.7-miled tunnel to temporarily store 160 million gallonas of sewage during heavy rain. The tunnelk and sewer connections to it would costnearl $1 billion. More than 500 smallef sewer upgrades also wouldbe built.
“Despitee more than 18 months of intensivd work on evaluatinggreeb infrastructure, defendants have been unable to make a credibl e case that there is a reasonable possibilitgy that green measures could eliminate or reducse the size of the Lower Mill Creek wrote Thomas Bramscher, an EPA section in a Nov. 25 letterf to MSD officials. Bramscher left some wigglr room for the MSD to use green solutions in areaws where sewer backups are less He also indicated EPA wouldr consider alternatives tothe tunnel, as long as they can be builg quickly and be proven effectivw at diverting sewage overflos that now impacts the Lower Mill Creek U.S. District Judge S.
Arthur Spiegel, who was briefed on the EPA’z findings Dec. 2, ordered all parties to come up with a compromise by May. How much will it cost? The EPA letter says a sewer plan that includezs the tunnel comesto $3.3 billion. But Marilyb Wall, a activist who has followede the issue for more than a thinks the final plan will include green solutions and cost lessthan $3 “Other cities have managed to do this, so I definitelyy think it’s doable,” she said. “We’ve been very frustraterd by all the Wethink it’s very important to get a finalized plan so we can move forwars on these projects.
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