City of Houston, Environmental Violations, Texas 2023

Grimy Times - In a shocking turn of events, the city of Houston has agreed to implement a comprehensive set of corrective measures and improvements to its sewer system to resolve longstanding problems with sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) and discharges into various water bodies of pollutants in excess of permitted limits from the city’s 39 wastewater treatment plants.

The city, which operates one of the largest sewer systems in the nation, has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $4.4 million, which will be shared equally with the State of Texas. The agreement, upon final approval by a U.S. District Court Judge, will resolve the city’s noncompliance with the Clean Water Act (CWA) and provisions of the Texas Water Code (TWC).

The city’s noncompliance with the Clean Water Act (CWA) and provisions of the Texas Water Code (TWC) was alleged in a joint Complaint filed on Sept. 20, 2018, by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on behalf of the State of Texas. The city has agreed to implement over a period of 15 years extensive measures to prevent SSOs and effluent violations, at an estimated cost of $2 billion.

According to the agreement, the city will address the insufficient capacity of its sewer system in identified areas where large-volume SSOs have occurred during major rain events. In addition, some non-wet weather SSOs occurring in the city over the years have been caused by defective conditions such as cracked and damaged sewer pipes.

Preventing raw sewage in the form of SSOs from going onto the streets of the city and from entering waters of the United States and waters of the state eliminates a significant threat to human health and the environment. These discharges have contributed to bacteria contamination of Houston water bodies, degraded water quality, and contain viruses that may cause illnesses.

Under the consent decree, Houston will reduce the release of raw sewage from the city’s sewer system by approximately six million gallons a year. Currently, this sewage is entering various water bodies in, around and near the city, including the Buffalo Bayou and the Houston Ship Channel.

The city of Houston operates one of the largest sewer systems in the nation, which serves nearly two million people. The system includes more than 6,000 miles of sewer lines, 390 lift stations, and more than 120,000 manholes.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/houston-texas-agrees-implement-comprehensive-measures-aimed-eliminating-sanitary-sewer-0