Stories of Progress in Achieving Healthy Waters

U.S. EPA Region 3 Water Protection Division

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania • February 19, 2015

A proposed partial settlement in Harrisburg calls for immediate and long term action to tackle multiple sources of water pollution in an affordable, prioritized manner.

EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection have agreed to a proposed partial settlement with the City of Harrisburg and Capital Region Water to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations involving sewer overflows and discharges of polluted stormwater to the Susquehanna River and Paxton Creek.

The agreement, Exit which in its first phase includes more than $82 million in remedial work, will help protect people’s health, the two impacted waterways, and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.

The action reflects a commitment by EPA and its Mid-Atlantic Water Protection Division to an Integrated Municipal Planning Framework that helps communities meet their Clean Water Act obligations in ways that are sustainable, that are within communities’ financial capabilities, and that prioritize the most pressing concerns.

Under the proposed agreement, Capital Region Water will take major steps within a period of about five years to improve the operation and maintenance of Harrisburg’s wastewater and stormwater collection systems, including completion by February 2016 of a higher level of pollution removal at its wastewater treatment plant. The upgrade will significantly reduce discharges of nitrogen pollution from the plant, which is currently the largest point source of nitrogen pollution to the Susquehanna River.

Other requirements in the agreement include improvements to the pipes that take waste from the collection system to the plant, a full mapping of the sewer system, repair of sinkholes, review and repair of CSO outfalls, development of a Long Term Control Plan and $3.5 million in green infrastructure projects.

The agreement will help Pennsylvania meet the nitrogen and phosphorus reduction goals for improving its local waters and restoring a healthy Chesapeake Bay. It also supports one of EPA’s National Enforcement Initiatives – keeping raw sewage and contaminated stormwater out of waters of the U.S.

• Harrisburg Agreement Features Flexible Approach to Resolving Clean Water Issues (PDF)(1 pg, 653 K, 02/19/2015)
  A proposed partial settlement in Harrisburg calls for immediate and long term action to tackle multiple sources of water pollution in an affordable, prioritized manner.