City of Indianapolis Agrees to Make $1.86 Billion in Improvements to Sewer System

City of Indianapolis Agrees to Make $1.86...:

"The city of Indianapolis has agreed to make an estimated $1.86 billion worth of improvements to resolve longstanding problems with overflows from its sewer system, the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. Indianapolis will make the improvements over 20 years to reduce the number of overflows- which currently occur approximately 60 times per year-to four or fewer times per year. The city will also pay a penalty of $1,117,800, which will be divided evenly between the United States and Indiana. The city also will spend $2 million on a supplemental environmental project to eliminate failing septic systems.

Under the consent decree, Indianapolis has specifically agreed to implement a Long Term Control Plan (LTCP) designed to greatly reduce overflows from its combined sewer system (CSOs) and will implement another plan designed to eliminate overflows from its sanitary sewer system (SSOs) and perform various other remedial measures. The consent decree also provides that the city can reduce the portion of the penalty to be paid to the state by undertaking further reductions in the number of failing septic systems. All of these improvements will provide major public health and environmental benefits. The injunctive relief provided under the settlement will be among the highest-cost municipal Clean Water Act settlements to date and will ultimately"