Lancaster, Pa., Agrees to Monitor Storm Water, Sewage Discharge

The city of Lancaster, Pa., agreed to comprehensive measures to end discharges of untreated sewage and other pollutants to local waterways from the city’s combined storm and sewage system.

The settlement, which was filed in federal district court in Philadelphia, resolves a simultaneously filed complaint brought by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), alleging the discharge of untreated sewage into the Conestoga River in violation of the Clean Water Act.

During periods of heavy rainfall or snow melt, the water volume exceeds the system’s capacity – causing combined sewer overflows. The city has five CSO outfalls, which overflowed at least 392 times in the past five years, discharging nearly 3.8 billion gal of untreated, polluted water into the Conestoga River, a tributary of the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay. These CSOs contain not only storm water, but also untreated human and industrial waste, toxic materials, and debris.

Under the settlement, the city of Lancaster has agreed to implement measures to significantly reduce combined sewer overflows (CSO). These include improving pump stations and reduction of flow through a comprehensive long-term plan to improve the ability of the entire system to handle flow.

The city of Lancaster will pay a $135,000 civil penalty, split equally between the U.S. and Pennsylvania, and implement a $1.8 million supplemental environmental project.  This project involves the restoration of a 1,350-foot segment of a local waterway called Groff’s Run that will reconnect wetlands to the Conestoga River, protecting water quality and reducing localized flooding.