Albany – Environmental Advocates of New
York has released a new report – Tapped Out: New York’s Clean Water in
Peril – which documents sewage overflows and the rampant
underreporting of such spills in New York State. The report also documents how
underinvestment has lead to a crumbling infrastructure and increased sewage
discharges in New York waterways.
A review of data published through the
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), in accordance with the Sewage Pollution Right to Know Act of
2012, shows that between May 2013 and June 2015, 2,696 sewage
overflows were reported.
While that figure is large, is it likely
a fraction of the true number of overflows happening statewide. Data which
demonstrates an inconsistent or outright lack of reporting includes:
85
percent of all reports failed to include spill volume.
58
percent of the 2,696 reported spills occurred in Erie County, pointing to
severe underreporting in other regions statewide.
New
York City, where an estimated 28 billion gallons of untreated sewage is
discharged into New York Harbor annually, reported just 563,910 gallons (0.002
percent) to DEC.
The
Capital Region, where an estimated 1.2 billion gallons is discharged into the
Hudson River annually, reported just 1.2 million gallons over two years.
Long
Island, where water quality issues are a strong concern, reported just 19
overflows – the lowest of any region statewide.
Liz Moran, water and natural resources
associate at Environmental Advocates of New York, and author of Tapped Out,
said, “There is a sacred bond between clean water and public health that is
being broken. In 2012, state legislators passed the Sewage Pollution Right to Know
Act, a common-sense law that says, knowing the public health dangers, if a
sewage discharge occurs, the public must be immediately notified. A law like
this is necessary due to the lack of investment in
an aging and failing system which dumps tens of billions of gallons of raw sewage
into local waterbodies every year.”
She added, “Although what we found is
that after 3.5 years, the law has not been fully implemented, lacks
standardized reporting requirements, and that while these numbers seem staggering,
they are likely a fraction of the true spills occurring statewide which go
unreported. The experts at DEC, and wastewater operators, are doing everything
they can with what they have – but cuts to agency resources and an ongoing lack
of investment in clean water infrastructure is placing public health at risk.”
The Sewage Pollution Right to Know Act
took effect in May 2013. Nearly three years later, the DEC has yet to finalize
regulations intended to provide standard reporting requirements for all communities
– the lack of regulations is affecting the quality of the data that is in the
Right to Know database.
Public Health Impacts
The public health dangers of untreated
sewage include waterborne pathogens, parasites, and disease-causing organisms
such as E. coli and Rotavirus. When overflows into local waterways occur –
which are common when precipitation and sewage enter the same system, or when a
system fails due to age – it leads to boil water alerts and waterbodies closing
for recreation and human activity due to the potential for sickness and even
death.
A 2013 analysis of water samples
collected at New York beaches found that 13 percent exceeded the EPA’s Beach Action Value
(BAV), which determines if a waterbody is safe for human activity.
Growing Infrastructure Needs - Water
infrastructure needs in New York State are enormous – the DEC stated in a 2008
report, A Gathering Storm,
that over the next twenty years $36 billion will need to be invested in our
wastewater infrastructure for all of the necessary repairs and upgrades.
According to the Environmental
Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Watershed Needs Survey, New York State has
the greatest documented wastewater infrastructure needs in the country, which
includes the third highest investment need in the nation to reduce sewage
overflows and stormwater pollution. And a 2014 report from the Office of the
New York State Comptroller, Growing Cracks in the Foundation,
found that there was an $800 million annual funding gap for sewer
infrastructure needs.
Environmental Advocates’
Recommendations
Staff funding for DEC must
be increased to ensure New York has enough cops on the beat to enforce laws and
protect public health. The current shortcomings of the Sewage Pollution Right
to Know Act are the result of inadequate funding that would ensure communities
are following consistent standards and have the technology available to
accurately track and report discharges. Additionally, too few resources are
available to DEC experts to finalize and implement current draft regulations.
Final Sewage Pollution
Right to Know Act rules should include:
No exemptions for reporting. Every spill can endanger public
health and should be subject to public notice as intended by lawmakers.
Proper notification of all potentially impacted communities
should occur (such as those downriver), not only where the overflow happened.
Immediate
reporting once a discharge is known.
A
more robust public notification effort that includes alerts to local media.
Governor Cuomo and Legislators should invest at least $800
million annually in the New York State Water Infrastructure Investment Act of
2015 (NYSWIIA), a budget line created in the SFY2015-16 Budget. NYSWIIA must be
permanently extended beyond its three-year life to create an ongoing commitment
to clean water in New York State.
Source: Environmental Advocates of New York
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