Sludge Watch ==> 850 billion gallons of sewage = 3, 500 to 5, 500 illnesses every year

[Maureen Reilly]

SLudgewatch Admin:

Hmmm...EPA says the


Jun 02, 2007
850 billion gallons of sewage = 3,500 to 5,500 illnesses
Sewage Dumping -Part II
"Legal" doesn't make it right

By Sam Pearsall, Falmouth Bureau
Cape Cod Today

Saying something is legal is not that same as saying it is okay to do. The 
Steamship Authority and Hy-Line Cruises have been legally using Nantucket 
Sound as a dumping grounds for their sewage for decades now. While these two 
companies, and other ferryboat operations across the Cape, are not breaking 
any federal laws, this sewage disposal only 3 miles offshore is harmful to 
the environment and people.

According to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, in 2004 over 50 billion 
gallons of sewage was pooled into waterways from dumping, run-off and by 
other means.


My Aunt in Oahu
Cape Cod is not alone: apparently the destruction of beauty is going on from 
coast to coast. Even the gorgeous Hawaiian Islands over there in the Pacific 
are dealing with the sa disgusting problems of sewage disposal in their 
so-called pristine waters. The photo above is my great aunt in Oahu.
She is marine ecologist Dr. Wendy Wiltse of the Environmental Protection 
Agency’s Honolulu office.
There is a state resolution asking the EPA to establish a no discharge zone 
for vessels in state waters of South Maui. As a former Woods Hole scientist, 
Dr. Wiltse was shocked to hear that the Steamship Authority still does not 
have an onshore pump-out in the Woods Hole terminal. Read about Dr. Wiltse 
in the EPA site here.

In this same year the Environmental Protection Agency estimated 3,500 to 
5,500 illnesses caused by polluted waters.

Susan Nickerson, Executive Director of Nantucket Soundkeeper, said “Two 
parts of the equation that really need to be looked at are bacterial 
contamination and nitrogen contamination.” The chlorination systems do not 
eliminate nitrogen which can build up and cause algal blooms in the ocean.

There are several pump-outs onshore available for recreational use in No 
Discharge Areas surrounding the Sound, including ones in Barnstable, 
Chatham, Harwich, Nantucket, and Waquoit Bay.

The boat sewage No Discharge Area Coordinator of Massachusetts, Todd 
Callaghan, explained that the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone 
Management is “just in the beginning stages of identifying the structural 
and financial needs for sighting commercial pump-outs in Provincetown, 
Barnstable Harbor, Boston, and Gloucester.”

He also mentioned that Hyannis is certainly an area that will also be given 
much consideration for a facility.

But even when the sewage from these commercial vessels is treated then 
dumped into the federal waters, not all of the harmful components are 
eliminated. The marine sanitation devices used by the SSA vessels do not 
remove nitrogen and other nutrients from the sewage.

Meanwhile, at The Soundkeepers

Nickerson explained that it is difficult to pinpoint the actual source of 
the pollutants, whether it is run-off from homes, overflowing septic tanks 
during heavy rains, or sewage disposal from boaters—both commercial and 
recreational.

“We are working with the SSA and Hy-Line to understand obstacles they face 
in eliminating their discharges and using land-based pump-outs,” Nickerson 
said, “and we are doing whatever we can to help them get there.”

The Nantucket Soundkeepers has a boat and two full time staff and one summer 
intern. Their website lists all the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound 
personel "staff" members of the Soundkeeprs as well. The Alliance's main 
function has been to stop the creation of the Cape Wind farm, and it has 
raised over $18 million for its mission.

Similar Soundkeeper and Baykeepers organizations in Buzzards Bay and Rhode 
Island have dozens of staffers here and here.

Read Part 1 - How 3 million flushes may spoil your next swim.


..........................................................

>From the EPA


EPA Study Says Sewage Overflows Continue to Pose U.S. Public Health Problem


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued its "Report 
to Congress on Impacts and Control of Combined Sewer Overflows and Sanitary 
Sewer Overflows." The study concludes that further control of sewer 
overflows are vital to reducing risks to public health and protecting the 
environment from water pollution.

Since the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, the EPA, states and local 
water pollution control agencies have carried out numerous initiatives to 
reduce combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs). 
However, according to the report, in 31 states and the District of Columbia, 
772 sewer systems annually discharge an estimated 850 billion gallons of 
untreated wastewater and storm water. CSOs and SSOs contribute to beach 
closures, shellfish bed closures, contamination of drinking water supplies 
and other environmental and public health concerns.

For beaches that are regularly monitored (coastal and Great Lakes beaches), 
EPA estimates that about 3,500 to 5,500 gastrointestinal illnesses per year 
are caused by CSOs and SSOs. A national estimate of the human health impacts 
of CSOs and SSOs is not currently available due to insufficient water 
quality and health effects data for all recreational swimming areas.

The EPA report concludes that several steps are necessary to make further 
progress, including adequate funding, integrated local and regional 
watershed protection programs, improved water quality monitoring and 
reporting, and stronger partnerships between government, industry, and 
citizens.

For more information about sewage sanitation controls and the full EPA 
report please go to:
http://www.epa.gov/npdes/csossoreport2004