City Reaches Deal To Modify Sewage Consent Decree

City, state and federal officials agreed to a revision of the landmark 2002 consent decree on Baltimore's wastewater discharge.

The original decree, enacted to correct unlawful discharges, expired on Jan. 1, with work yet to be done. The work left unfinished is priced at more than $1 billion, Baltimore public works Director Rudy Chow said. The original decree, the first of its kind in the nation, didn't provide a realistic timetable, and didn't anticipate how much work would be needed, officials said.

“It is work we must do to secure the long-term future of our critical infrastructure, and to make sure Baltimore’s waterways are as clean as we can make them," Chow said in a statement.

The new, two-phase agreement gives priority to projects that would provide the greatest environmental benefit the fastest. That includes 34 individual sewer main projects, 11 of which are already completed and another 12 are already under construction. It also includes Back River Headworks, a project which will cut the Baltimore area's sewer overflow volume by more than 80 percent. This problem was not known about when the original consent decree was agreed to.

"We anticipate that the work being performed under the initial phase of this agreement will eliminate the vast majority of the volume of Baltimore’s current wet weather overflows within five years,” EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin said. “This modification presents the best path forward to eliminating sanitary sewer overflows, while also providing greater transparency.”

After those projects are done, the city will monitor rainfall and sewage flow to assess performance and develop the plan for the second phase. That plan is due by December 2022, with work to be completed by December 2030, with two years of monitoring after that. The decree requires the city to hold annual public forums to report on progress, and revise its emergency response plan for overflows. The city paid $1.6 million in penalties for sewage overflows over the life of the original consent decree.

However, Alison Prost, Maryland executive director for the Cheseapeake Bay Foundation, said they're encouraged, but not convinced that the city will follow through on all that's needed.

“This modified agreement between the city and government agencies purports to fix a dire situation. But we still have concerns exactly how Baltimore will be held accountable to finish this critical job," Prost said in a statement. “Ensuring this is completed should be a top priority for all candidates for mayor in Baltimore."

A public information session regarding the consent decree is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 7, at the Maryland Department of the Environment's offices at 1800 Washington Blvd. in Baltimore. The changes are also subject to court approval.