Right-to-Know of CSOs

Combined sewer overflows were a hot topic at the Indiana General Assembly this session. Senator Gard guided SEA-431 through the complicated path to enactment accepting many amendments along the way.

The bill was opposed by all environmental groups. Amendments addressed some but not all of their concerns. However, the basic goal of the bill — suspending water quality standards for CSO communities based on a site-specific economic analysis — remains.

IKE hopes that the law will live up to its underlying promise to break the deadlock of decision-making that has hindered significant progress in addressing CSOs.

In a positive step, the law requires that the public be told about each and every overflow of raw sewage into our rivers. Specifically, the law required that:

“The water pollution control board . . . shall adopt a rule before September 1, 2001, establishing requirements for community notification by NPDES permit holders of the potential health impact of combined sewer overflows whenever information from any reliable source indicates that:

a discharge or discharges from one (1) or more combined sewer overflow points is occurring; or

(2) there is a reasonable likelihood that a discharge or discharges from one (1) or more combined sewer overflow points will occur within the next twenty-four (24) hours.” (Section 23)

An earlier version of the bill would have required municipalities to notify the local media of an overflow until the Board adopts the rule. This provision was stripped in the final negotiations.

IKE looks forward to working with IDEM and the Board to get these rules adopted quickly.