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Congress saves us (barely) from eternal turdwater

Posted 05.20.2005 by Turd Hugegrunt
In a knee-jerk reaction to academic and ecological activists, vociferous public pressure, and a pending Congressional action, backsliding revisionists at EPA reversed their intended policy to relax existing regulation of municipal sewage treatment facilities. If the EPA had adopted the new policy, U.S. sewage treatment plants might have avoided an estimated $90 billion or more in facility upgrades required to meet NPDES standards to eliminate or at least minimize the fecal pollution of our nation's waters.

Under the proposed policy, millions of Americans would have faced an increased threat of bacteria, viruses, and parasites in recreational, commercial fishing, and municipal drinking water resources from the dumping of inadequately treated sewage into our waterways anytime it rains. Under standing policy, municipalities must continue to upgrade treatment facilities to fully process wastewater except in the most extreme circumstances such as hurricanes and tropical storms.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have said that more than half the waterborne disease outbreaks in the United States during the last half-century followed periods of extreme rainfall, indicating that there is a lot of harmful shit in the estimated trillion gallons annually of untreated sewage discharging from aging U.S. treatment systems.

But adequately treating sewage is an expensive process, and the Bush administration sought to relax existing law, and allow cities and towns strapped by budgetary constraints to save money while unleashing floating turds, e. coli, hepatitis A, helminth worms, and chemical pathogens willy nilly into our rivers, lakes, and oceans.

U.S. Representatives Bart Stupak, D-Mich., E. Clay Shaw, R-Fla, Frank Palone, D-N.J., and Jeff Miller, R-Fla., offered a bill to block EPA's proposed plan. The House Bill sought to protect our nation's recreational waters and fisheries from the EPA's proposed turd terrorism. EPA backed down and reversed itself just one hour before the House passed the bill.

Tiernan Sittenfeld, legislative director for the League of Conservation Voters, which supported the House measure, said EPA's reversal is "a victory for health," and will help ensure cleaner rivers, lakes, and streams. PoopReporters who live downstream of large urban populations may wish to forward their thanks to the appropriate Representatives.

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Anonymous Coward -- 05.20.2005

I've been following this in the news. I can't believe that this congress (this evil, lazy, greedy congress) actually did the right thing for once! It boggles the mind. It also boggles the mind how blatantely corrupt the EPA has grown under this administration. The only people who would have benefitted from this legislation are those with money in their pockets; and even they would have suffered, should they have gone to the beach or walked down the street after a big storm.

Politicians! F'em.

Anonymous Coward -- 05.20.2005

I've been following this in the news. I can't believe that this congress (this evil, lazy, greedy congress) actually did the right thing for once! It boggles the mind. It also boggles the mind how blatantely corrupt the EPA has grown under this administration. The only people who would have benefitted from this legislation are those with money in their pockets; and even they would have suffered, should they have gone to the beach or walked down the street after a big storm.

Politicians! F'em.

Anonymous Coward -- 05.20.2005

wakka wakka wakka what small words are on that sign?

Anonymous Coward -- 05.20.2005

wakka wakka wakka what small words are on that sign?

Anonymous Coward -- 05.20.2005

Good job congress. Long Lake in Port Orchard, Washington, frequently suffers from raw sewage leakage from waterfront houses and usually once a year the lake is closed off from swimmers. I used to go there frequently as a child, never really thought that the water I would accidentally swallow every so often probably had someone elses poop in it.

Anonymous Coward -- 05.20.2005

Good job congress. Long Lake in Port Orchard, Washington, frequently suffers from raw sewage leakage from waterfront houses and usually once a year the lake is closed off from swimmers. I used to go there frequently as a child, never really thought that the water I would accidentally swallow every so often probably had someone elses poop in it.

Anonymous Coward -- 05.21.2005

The action by the House was motivated more by the economics of tourism (recreational use of water) and commercial fishing (oysters and other shellfish are extremely susseptible to septic contamination) and other voter pressures from the constituencies of those Congressmen who pushed the bill. Other interesting facts from even back here in the Midwest include: Over 40% of the streams in Indiana are not safe for "full body submersion," and the government advises we not eat large fish or fish at the top of the aquatic food chain caught in Indiana or Kentucky rivers more than once a month due to concentrations of various pathogens in the fish. While some of the pathogens are from agricultural sources (herbicides, pesticides, and manure), the more serious concern is urban and industrial wastes (for example, mercury). Coal-fired electric plants now emit so much toxic particulate in the Midwest that some rainfall in Indiana has measurable mercury content that exceeds the EPA limits for mercury in permitted wastewater discharges from industrial sites. So, it's about time Congress take notice and action to remedy some of the backsliding and regulatory reactionism of the Bush administration.

Anonymous Coward -- 05.21.2005

The action by the House was motivated more by the economics of tourism (recreational use of water) and commercial fishing (oysters and other shellfish are extremely susseptible to septic contamination) and other voter pressures from the constituencies of those Congressmen who pushed the bill. Other interesting facts from even back here in the Midwest include: Over 40% of the streams in Indiana are not safe for "full body submersion," and the government advises we not eat large fish or fish at the top of the aquatic food chain caught in Indiana or Kentucky rivers more than once a month due to concentrations of various pathogens in the fish. While some of the pathogens are from agricultural sources (herbicides, pesticides, and manure), the more serious concern is urban and industrial wastes (for example, mercury). Coal-fired electric plants now emit so much toxic particulate in the Midwest that some rainfall in Indiana has measurable mercury content that exceeds the EPA limits for mercury in permitted wastewater discharges from industrial sites. So, it's about time Congress take notice and action to remedy some of the backsliding and regulatory reactionism of the Bush administration.

Anonymous Coward -- 05.23.2005

Sometimes I feel a member of gov't no matter what party, will always be willing to take a bribe from corporate bigshots, and screw over the common man.

I just feel that when a Republican does it, it will get more news coverage than a Democrat.

That in mind, I'm still pissed off at the Republicans.

Anonymous Coward -- 05.23.2005

Sometimes I feel a member of gov't no matter what party, will always be willing to take a bribe from corporate bigshots, and screw over the common man.

I just feel that when a Republican does it, it will get more news coverage than a Democrat.

That in mind, I'm still pissed off at the Republicans.

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