SEWAGE

Reducing Nitrogen Pollution
from Sewage Treatment Plants

Largely because of pollution from excess nitrogen and phosphorus, the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal rivers are on the Clean Water Act’s list of impaired waters.

Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution causes algae blooms that block sunlight to underwater grasses and remove oxygen from the water, creating “dead zones” -- areas of the Bay that have too little oxygen to support a healthy ecosystem. (Get real-time data about water quality from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources). These problems degrade habitat for key plants and animals in the Bay’s ecosystem, including underwater grasses, crabs, rockfish, and oysters.

The Chesapeake 2000 Agreement—signed by Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—committed to take actions that were necessary to remove the Bay and its tidal tributaries from the impaired waters list by 2010. To accomplish this, EPA has calculated that nitrogen loads must be reduced by 110 million pounds each year from the year 2000's levels. By upgrading sewage treatment plants (STP) in the Bay watershed with nutrient removal technology (NRT), we can achieve approximately 20 percent of the necessary pollution load reductions. This is one of the most cost-effective ways to clean up the Bay.

To achieve this goal, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is:

• Educating the public and elected officials about the importance of improved sewage treatment to Bay restoration.
     
• Seeking funding sources to pay for upgrades.
   
• Demanding that the states and EPA enforce existing laws to limit nitrogen pollution from these sources.
   
• Working with a public-private partnership to establish a program using nutrient trading to reduce pollution.

Education

CBF issued a report that offers citizens comprehensive information on how much nitrogen pollution is coming from major STPs in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. In addition, A "Lot" for Less, a report prepared for CBF by Clifford W. Randall, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, concludes that implementation of nitrogen removal technology could be accomplished for 50 to 60 percent less than current projected costs.

Funding

In 2004 in Maryland, CBF helped pass the Bay Restoration Fund, which established a fund to upgrade the state's 66 major STPs by assessing a $2.50 monthly fee (also known as the “flush fee”) on sewer users.

In Virginia, the Governor included $257 million dollars in the budget for fiscal year 2007, primarily for sewage treatment plant upgrades. As substantial as this proposal is, CBF continues to seek a dedicated funding source to clean up Virginia’s streams and rivers.

In Pennsylvania, CBF garnered public support for the passage of the Growing Greener bond referendum, which authorizes a $625 million state bond to be used to fund programs that clean up Pennsylvania rivers and streams, including sewage treatment plant upgrades.

Enforcement

CBF has filed several legal challenges to force the EPA, along with Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, to comply with the Clean Water Act and require enforceable permit limits on nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from sewage treatment and industrial plants. CBF is currently tracking new and revised permits in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania to ensure that the states comply with this requirement.

To learn more about sewage, read CBF's report called Sewage Treatment Plants: The Watershed's Second Largest Source of Pollution (pdf) and view a map of Sewage Treatment Plants in the Watershed.