East Bay cities, municipal utility for violating 2014 Clean Water Act settlement with sewer overflows

(UI) —The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board announced that the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) and six East Bay cities will be assessed $372,876 in penalties for violating settlement terms designed to prevent untreated sewage from entering San Francisco Bay.

Under a 2014 Clean Water Act settlement, EBMUD and seven East Bay cities paid a $1.5 million civil penalty for past sewage discharges. They agreed to assess and upgrade their 1,600-mile-long sewer system infrastructure over 21 years. Since then, over 114 miles of sewer main pipe have been rehabilitated or replaced and over 650 miles of private sewer laterals have been certified as leak-free.

“These East Bay cities and utilities made commitments to upgrade aging sewer infrastructure, which is a necessary step for protecting the waters of San Francisco Bay and surrounding communities,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “We’re taking this action to ensure they live up to those commitments and undertake the efforts needed to renew wastewater infrastructure.”

The parties are being assessed the following penalties for violations of the settlement that occurred between July 2021 and June 2023:

• City of Oakland - $278,200 - Failure to prevent 67 sanitary sewer overflows from reaching waters.
• EBMUD - $28,000 - Failure to prevent a sanitary sewer overflow from reaching waters and failure to meet effluent limitations for coliform.
• Stege Sanitary District (serving El Cerrito, Kensington, and a portion of Richmond) - $25,000 - Failure to prevent a sanitary sewer overflow from reaching waters.
• City of Piedmont - $15,876 - Failure to timely rehabilitate the required footage of sewer mains.
• City of Alameda - $200 - Failure to prevent a sanitary sewer overflow from reaching waters.
• City of Albany - $25,000 - Failure to prevent a sanitary sewer overflow from reaching waters.
• City of Berkeley - $600 - Failure to prevent three sanitary sewer overflows from reaching waters.

When wastewater infrastructure is not properly maintained, untreated sewage can escape and be discharged to the bay. Older sewer systems can be overwhelmed during rainstorms, releasing untreated sewage. In addition to polluting waterways, untreated sewage can spread disease-causing organisms, metals and nutrients that threaten public health. Sewage can also deplete oxygen in the bay, threatening fish, seals and other wildlife.

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