Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District to reduce combined sewer overflows with underground tunnel expansions
(WO) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposed modification to the 2011 settlement with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District to address the flow of untreated sewage into Cleveland-area waterways and Lake Erie. This modification will affect the city of Cleveland and 61 surrounding communities.
The proposed modification amends two major elements of the 2011 settlement:
- implementation requirements to decrease combined sewer overflow volumes beyond what was previously required,
- and chemically enhance the high-rate treatment facility at NEORSD’s Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plant, resulting in fewer overflows.
The proposed modification will provide NEORSD extra time to achieve the additional combined sewer overflow volume reductions until Dec. 31, 2034. NEORSD will expand five of its six deep tunnels to capture the additional discharges for full treatment. NEORSD is also required to complete construction of its last deep tunnel, the Big Creek Tunnel, by Dec. 31, 2034, one year earlier than currently required.
At the Easterly plant, the original consent decree required construction of a chemically enhanced high-rate treatment facility capable of treating 400 million gallons per day of flow. The proposed modification requires construction of alternative measures -- a flow diversion structure, deep tunnel drop structure and a smaller, 175-million gallons per day facility -- which together will result in the same or better level of CSO control as the larger treatment facility.
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