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Our combined sewer system desperately needs to be upgraded. Many parts
of our system are in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. Some
sections of downtown have storm sewers that pre-date the Civil War. The
most glaring example of our many violations is the Brookside Interceptor
system, which dumps raw sewage into Brush Creek every time we have a
significant rainfall.
The EPA is fully aware of our violations and can, and most
likely will, file a lawsuit against the city of Kansas City within the
next five years if we do not make significant progress in remediating
our blatant violations of federal law. EPA investigators have been
knocking on doors in my Brookside neighborhood as recently as 2005 asking
to inspect basements for sewage backups and implying to my neighbors that
they are gathering data for a lawsuit.
Estimates to bring our system into
compliance have reached as high as $3 billion. It is going to be a challenge
to finance such a monumental project. I am currently studying how other
cities such as Louisville and Milwaukee have responded to mandates by the
EPA and how those municipalities financed such enormous yet imperative projects.
Water Department director
Frank Pogge made very clear in an ‘As I See It’ editorial that the EPA has
"approved" our plans to renovate our combined sewer system. I am skeptical.
Not of Mr. Pogge, but of any supposed agreement with the federal government.
Before I make any recommendations I want to review this "agreement" the
Water Department has with the EPA.
The first question I need answered is does this "agreement" come with guarantees
that the EPA will not file suit against the City of Kansas City? I again point to
Louisville as a
prime example of what can happen when the federal government
feels a municipality is not moving with enough expediency in remediating
violations of the Clean Water Act. Replace the words "Ohio River" with "Brush Creek"
and it's evident that we are in the exact same situation. Even with an agreement
in place, an
upcoming administration change in the White House could cause a dramatic shift
in how the EPA responds to environmental infractions.
Plans are already in
place for a systematic renovation of the Brookside Interceptor system as well
as other problem spots throughout the city. I recommend that we develop a
financial "plan of attack" in case the EPA decides to accelerate our schedule.
The combined sewer system is a looming problem that we know we will have to
remedy with absolute certainty. Financial planning for that certainty is an
imperative.
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