Youngstown, feds propose new sewer cleanup plan

 The U.S. Department of Justice and the City of Youngstown have put forward new plans for how the city should clean up its sewer system, a move that could speed up environmental improvements in the city. The proposed changes are part of an update to an old agreement between Youngstown and environmental agencies, aimed at stopping pollution from overflowing sewers.

The DOJ's Environmental Enforcement Section on Friday submitted the new plan asking for its approval from a federal court.

Background

In 2002, Youngstown agreed with the U.S. and Ohio environmental agencies to a consent decree, a court-ordered plan to update the city's wastewater system to stop combined overflows that occur when too much rain overwhelms older systems that carry both sewage and storm runoff, causing raw sewage to flow into rivers and streams.

In 2015, a more detailed Long-Term Control Plan (LTCP) was approved, outlining specific projects Youngstown needed to complete. This plan included upgrades to the city's Wastewater Treatment Plant and building a new system to protect Mill Creek that runs through Mill Creek Park. Part of the original plan also involved building a large facility to treat wet weather flow, a major pollution source.

The Plan

The new proposal from the DOJ and Youngstown makes some key changes to that original plan, including a smaller treatment facility.  Instead of a 100 million-gallon-per-day facility, the new plan suggests an 80 million-gallon-per-day facility that uses special cloth-disk filter technology.

Youngstown has already done some extra work on its own, like improving storage in the sewer lines and making its wastewater treatment plant even larger than required. These efforts helped show that a slightly smaller, more advanced treatment facility could still do the job.

Under the amended agreement, the city will also replace and enlarge older sewer pipes in the West Division Interceptor Sewer Replacement project. This will help get rid of several smaller sewer overflow points.

Additionally, the timeline for the Mill Creek Project is being sped up under the amended consent decree, which would bring cleaner water for Mill Creek and Mill Creek Park sooner.

Public Input

Before these changes become official, the DOJ is inviting comments on the proposed amendments for 30 days. This public comment period will start once a formal notice appears in the Federal Register, which is like the government's official newspaper.

After the comment period, the DOJ will review all the feedback and tell the court what they think. They still have an option to pull back the proposed changes if the comments reveal serious problems.

Even with these new proposals, the U.S. government isn't dropping its request for penalties against Youngstown for not meeting some deadlines in the old agreement. Youngstown still has the right to argue against those penalties.

If the court approves these amendments, they will become the new rulebook for Youngstown's sewer cleanup, replacing the old schedule and pushing forward with environmental projects.