(AGENPARL) – mer 01 maggio 2024 Issued: May 1, 2024 (3:11pm EDT)
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United States and California Take Enforcement Action Against San Francisco for
Violations of the Clean Water Act
United States and California Take Enforcement Action Against San Francisco for
Violations of the Clean Water Act
SAN FRANCISCO (May 1, 2024) – The Department of Justice, on behalf of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Attorney General of
California, on behalf of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control
Board, filed a civil complaint in federal court today against the City and
County of San Francisco for claims of Clean Water Act violations spanning the
last decade. The complaint seeks financial penalties and improvements to
remedy San Francisco’s repeated and widespread failures to operate its two
combined sewer systems and three sewage treatment plants in compliance with
the Clean Water Act and its permits. San Francisco failed to operate its
combined sewer systems in a manner that keeps untreated sewage out of San
Francisco Bay and its tributaries, streets, beaches and other areas with risk
of human contact.
“Protecting San Francisco Bay, the Pacific Ocean and public health are
critical priorities for EPA, and this complaint is a major step to improve how
the San Francisco sewer system is managed,” said EPA Pacific Southwest
Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “EPA and our partners are committed to
ensuring San Francisco comes into compliance with the Clean Water Act to
protect clean water and local communities.”
“San Francisco’s aging wastewater system has exposed the public to risks
for too long,” said Alexis Strauss, Chair of the San Francisco Bay Regional
Water Quality Control Board. “This is the time to commit to an outcome
which reduces sewage overflows and builds upgraded wastewater
infrastructure. Our goal is to help San Francisco achieve a healthy Bay and
coastline, which can be enjoyed by millions of residents and visitors every
day.”
The United States and the San Francisco Water Board request that the Court
order the City of San Francisco to cease further violations of the Clean Water
Act and its permits and complete all actions necessary to ensure that the City
complies in the future. On average each year since 2016, San Francisco has
discharged more than 1.8 billion gallons of untreated sewage from its combined
sewer systems into creeks, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean, including
areas popular for wading, swimming, surfing, kayaking and fishing. San
Francisco is served by two combined sewer systems that collect domestic
sewage, industrial and commercial wastewater, and stormwater in the same
pipes. During heavy rains, when the sewage treatment plants are at maximum
capacity, combined sewage is discharged from near-shore outfalls to creeks,
the San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean without receiving disinfection
treatment.
San Francisco’s failure to take steps to minimize these discharges or
provide disinfection treatment interferes with the state’s designated uses
for these water bodies, which include water contact recreation and protection
of aquatic life. Untreated sewage contains pathogens such as E. coli, which
can cause severe illness if ingested. Children, the elderly, people with
weakened immune systems and pregnant women have a higher risk for adverse
consequences from such illness than the general population.
In addition, San Francisco’s combined sewer systems are in a state of
disrepair, and the City’s failure to properly operate and maintain them has
led to additional combined sewage discharges that has put members of the
public at risk for unknowingly coming into contact with untreated sewage. San
Francisco has also consistently failed to properly notify the public about the
presence of untreated sewage at popular water recreation locations, overflows
from manholes onto sidewalks and streets and the risks of coming into contact
with untreated sewage.
EPA has brought enforcement actions to require municipalities across the
country to update their sewer systems and address similar Clean Water Act
violations. Nationally, EPA has been working with states, municipalities, and
trade organizations to develop tools to help communities work towards
compliance with Clean Water Act requirements, including meeting applicable
water quality standards.
The State Water Board and nine regional boards administer and enforce the
Clean Water Act in California, improving water quality for communities and the
environment while working with wastewater systems to help bring them into
compliance. In 2023, the Water Boards took 260 wastewater enforcement actions
under the Clean Water Act, with over six million dollars in assessed
penalties.
San Francisco is one of approximately 750 communities in the country with
combined sewer systems but is only one of two such systems in California. San
Francisco began planning to address its combined sewer overflows in the 1970s
and completed construction of planned controls over 25 years ago. Since
completion of those controls, no significant upgrades or updates have been
made to the system to reduce combined sewer overflows and currently, the
controls are insufficient to meet the requirements in San Francisco’s Clean
Water Act permits.
Read the complaint on EPA’s website.