EPA Sewage 'Blending'
Proposal Gets Dumped
May 20, 2005 — By Natural Resources Defense Council
WASHINGTON, DC — The House of Representatives last night voted overwhelmingly
to block the Environmental Protection Agency from finalizing its so-called
'blending' proposal, which would have allowed sewer operators to routinely dump
barely treated sewage into the nation's lakes, rivers and streams. A few hours
before the House passed a bipartisan anti-sewage dumping amendment to an
appropriations bill, the EPA announced its decision to drop the controversial
policy.
The following is a statement by Nancy Stoner, Director of the Clean Water
Program at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
"When the time came for a public showdown over EPA's sewage dumping policy,
the agency blinked.
"Faced with the prospect of an embarrassing defeat in the House, the EPA
and its congressional allies had no choice but to wake up and smell the sewage.
They finally got the message that people want less, not more sewage in the water
they drink, the rivers where they fish and the beaches and lakes where they
swim.
"With this victory, Congress delivered a strong message reminding EPA that
its mission is to protect our health and environment. We're especially grateful
to those who led the fight to safeguard us from sewage, particularly
Representatives Bart Stupak (D-Mich), Clay Shaw (R-Fla), Jeff Miller (R-Fla) and
Frank Pallone (D-N.J.).
"Already, billions of gallons of sewage flow into the nation's waterways
every year, increasing the risk of illness for millions of people from exposure
to bacteria, viruses and parasites in the water.
"If EPA had stuck to its plan to open the sewage floodgates, it would have
caused more sickness, more beach closings, more economic suffering for local
communities, and greater harm to fish and other wildlife."
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of
scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public
health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has more than 1 million
members and online activists nationwide, served from offices in New York,
Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Visit us on the web at www.nrdc.org.
Press contact: Nancy Stoner, 202-289-2394, or Rob Perks, 202-289-2420