On January 30, 2023, Phase 2 of the Biden Administration’s rule making revisions to Nation Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) were sent by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Once OMB completes its review the proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register for public
How Easy is it for Cities to Re-Open their CSO/SSO Consent Decrees?
For over a decade, U.S. EPA has embarked on a national enforcement strategy regarding combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) from municipal wastewater treatment systems. As part of the enforcement strategy, U.S. EPA has entered a large number of federal consent decrees which establish deadlines for the elimination of CSOs/SSOs. These decrees
Sewer District’s Green Infrastructure Program an Opportunity to Soften Impact of New Fee on Businesses
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) has entered into a settlement with U.S. EPA to fix its combined sewer overflow issues (CSOs). Included in the settlement is a provision which requires NEORSD to spend $42 million in eight years to eliminate 44 million gallons of storm water from entering its sewer system. This portion
Part II: Risks and Opportunities With Proposed Regional Stormwater Utility
The Board of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) could vote as soon as the end of this week on whether to create a stormwater utility within its service territory. Through the imposition of a fee on homeowner’s and businesses the District would hope to tackle some of the region’s major stormwater issues.
In