Stupak Also Joins “American Rivers” In Unveiling Top 10 Most Endangered Rivers

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI), the author of the Save Our Waters From Sewage Act, testified before the Water Resources and Environment subcommittee of the Transportation and Infrastructure committee on the harmful effects of waste water blending after standing with American Rivers in announcing the Top 10 Most Endangered Rivers.

“This morning I stood with my friends at American Rivers as they unveiled the Top 10 Most Endangered Rivers in America. Much of the criteria they went on were rivers that had been polluted from poor sewage infrastructures resulting in dumping, or blending, of sewage,” said Stupak. “In major cities throughout the country, billions of gallons of sewage are dumped into our waterways each year. Some of these occurrences have been fatal as was the case in Milwaukee in 1993 where a Cryptosporidium outbreak killed 100 people and caused another 400,000 people to fall ill.”

Joan Rose, Microbiologist at Michigan State University, also testified before the subcommittee on her report that investigated the health impact of sewage that shows the risk could be 100 times greater if individuals exposed to areas impacted by partially treated sewage as opposed to fully treated wastewater.

Nancy Stoner, Senior Staff Attorney and Director of Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) said in her testimony that, according to EPA estimates, coastal waters support 28.3 million jobs and generate around $54 billion in goods and services each year. The coastal economy will be affected by the continuing environmental degradation of the EPA’s blending proposal.

“EPA estimates the amount of raw sewage dumped into U.S. waters every year range from 1.3 trillion gallons to 860 billion gallons. Unless investment in wastewater infrastructure substantially increases and treatment efficient improves, EPA predicts that by 2025 sewage pollution will exceed 1968 levels – the highest in our nation’s history,” Stoner said.

A November 2003 draft policy issued by the EPA stated that during rain events, publicly owned water treatment facilities would be allowed to combine the filtered but untreated human sewage with fully treated wastewater before discharge, in a process known as “blending.” The EPA has yet to enact the policy but by doing so would effectively lift the current prohibition on bypassing a crucial secondary treatment allowing more bacteria, pathogens, viruses and parasites into our waterways.  The Save Our Waters From Sewage Act would block that policy.

The Save Our Waters From Sewage Act was introduced last month with several other Members of Congress representing states from coast to coast and environmental groups such as NRDC and American Rivers to discuss the health and environmental repercussions of the EPA proposal. The legislation came one week after 135 bipartisan Members of Congress sent a letter to the EPA Acting Administrator, Stephen L. Johnson, stating their objections to this proposal.

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