Shelton to Pay Fine, Redesign Sewage Plan

By Lauren Garrison, New Haven Register, Conn.

Jun. 20–SHELTON — The city will pay a $142,000 fine and implement a new plan to stop raw sewage from flowing into the Housatonic River, according to a settlement announced Thursday by federal and state authorities.

State Attorney Richard Blumenthal called the settlement “a victory for clean water and public health, halting sewage spills that have polluted the Housatonic River.”

“This agreement means cleaner water, more fish and other wildlife and more people enjoying this scenic waterway,” Blumenthal said.

The city has agreed to eliminate its “wastewater treatment plant bypass” and stop overflows of raw sewage associated with insufficient wastewater collection system capacity by July 2010, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

The $142,000 fine will be paid evenly to the U.S. and the state, and will be used to pay for environmentally beneficial projects. city has been permitted for over 20 years to allow sewage to bypass the wastewater treatment plant and flow into the river in wet weather conditions when the system can’t handle the flow. The city’s error was in allowing bypasses in dry weather, which is prohibited, he said.

Lauretti acknowledged that Shelton had erred, but said, “it would be nice if there was some consistency with these agencies in who they pursue and how they pursue them.”

“There are far worse things that go on out there right next door to us that are not being addressed,” Lauretti said.

He pointed to “the condition of the water on the beaches along Long Island Sound” as well as “some companies that dump heavy metals into the Housatonic River and haven’t had permits in 10 years, and there’s no action taken against them even though the DEP and the EPA know about it.”

Lauretti also criticized the state-controlled process by which municipalities upgrade their wastewater treatment plants, calling it inefficient.

“Had we been allowed to commence our upgrades sooner, we might not be in this situation,” he said.

The city recently completed an expansion of its undersized wastewater treatment plant, as required by a 2002 administrative order from the state Department of Environmental Protection. The city certified to the EPA that as of July 2007, it had sealed the bypass outfall.

Prior to that, “millions of gallons of untreated sewage were discharged to the Housatonic River since 2000 — especially during wet-weather periods,” according to reports provided by the city.

Shelton’s collection system has historically been combined, meaning it handled both sanitary sewage and storm water during periods of wet weather, the EPA stated. During the 1980s, the city separated much of the collection system. However, the city maintained a wastewater treatment bypass to the Housatonic River immediately prior to the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

The EPA said untreated sewage from municipal sanitary sewers can carry bacteria, viruses and other organisms that can cause life-threatening illnesses such as cholera, dysentery, hepatitis and severe gastroenteritis.

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Copyright (c) 2008, New Haven Register, Conn.

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