[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 81 (Thursday, June 23, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 23, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
LEGISLATION TO FUND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES TO CLEAN UP COMBINED SEWER 
                           OVERFLOW POLLUTION

                                 ______


                           HON. JOHN W. OLVER

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 23, 1994

  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week I introduced along with my 
colleague from Massachusetts [Mr. Neal], H.R. 4614, legislation to help 
our communities, and to help our major rivers, with the problem of 
combined sewer overflow pollution.
  As my colleagues may be aware, combined sewer overflows result from 
many communities having built single sewer collection systems for their 
sanitary sewers and their storm water sewers. This system works fine, 
except when a heavy rain increases the volume in the sewer system past 
the capacity of the treatment facility. When the treatment facility 
meets its capacity, the excess overflow, including untreated household 
waste, is discharged directly into a nearby waterway.
  According to the Environmental Protection Agency, as many as 40 
million Americans may live in communities with combined sewer 
overflows, or CSO's. Cleaning up these CSO's is a major goal for the 
EPA, in order to clean up our rivers and restore them to a fishable, 
swimmable standard. However, the major burden of compliance is falling 
upon the municipalities, many of whom are older cities, least able to 
afford environmental infrastructure improvements of this kind. For 
example, cities in western Massachusetts, such as Holyoke and 
Springfield, may have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in order 
to eliminate combined sewer overflows into the Connecticut River.
  The bill we introduced this week is not an effort to reduce the Clean 
Water Act standards for our rivers. I believe that our urban rivers are 
some of our most underutilized and underappreciated resources for our 
cities, and we need to do more to reclaim and restore them. This bill 
is an effort to find new--better and cheaper--ways to clean up CSO's, 
and to help communities implement and demonstrate those methods for use 
around the country.
  It should be no surprise that there is great demand for less 
expensive technologies, but, more significantly, there is great 
potential for such technologies. Constructed wetlands and vortex 
separators are just two examples of technologies which could save money 
for communities across the country if we had more information on how 
they work in practice. There may be other, even simpler, practices or 
technologies which could help cities and towns. But we need to provide 
Federal support and encouragement for test sites if cities are to be 
able to avoid using the same old, expensive methods which the EPA has 
already approved.
  The bill authorizes $100 million annually to fund CSO cleanup 
projects which use innovative and cost-effective methods or 
technologies to clean up waterways of interstate significance. Projects 
will have to include a technology transfer component, to spread the 
knowledge and use of these practices to other cities around the 
country, and will have to be in compliance with the EPA's national 
combined sewer overflow strategy, which promotes cost-effective cleanup 
of CSO's. Projects will be eligible for grants for feasibility studies, 
and for 80 percent funding for design and engineering and construction.
  I believe this legislation is important to provide the national 
support which will enable cities and towns to find the cheapest way to 
clean up our waterways at the local level. We can save our cities 
significant funds, clean up our urban rivers, and support new 
environmental industries. I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation, and I hope we will support the implementation of 
innovative CSO technologies in the reauthorization of the Clean Water 
Act.

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