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2005 News Releases
Federal Grant Will Help Allegheny County Communities
Comply with
EPA Consent Agreements
3 Rivers Wet Weather Demonstration Program Receives 2005 Appropriation
PITTSBURGH, PA—March 15, 2005—While
Allegheny County communities continue to clean, assess and repair
their sewer collection systems under a consent order from the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), they can look to a small
non-profit organization based in Lawrenceville for some financial
assistance.
Recently, 2005 appropriations legislation earmarked $2.5 million
for the 3 Rivers Wet Weather Demonstration Program (3RWWDP) under
the federal Clean Water Act to assist 82 communities and the City
of Pittsburgh in the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN)
service area.
“We appreciate the ongoing support of the Allegheny County
delegation—Senators Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter, and
Congressional Representatives Mike Doyle, Melissa Hart and Tim
Murphy—in securing the dollars that allow us to assist local
communities in tackling this critical problem, said John Schombert,
executive director of 3 Rivers Wet Weather.
Created in 1998, 3RWWDP’s mission is to help ALCOSAN communities
address the issue of untreated sewage and storm water overflowing
into the region's waterways during wet weather. To promote the
most cost-effective, long-term, sustainable solutions, the organization
benchmarks sewer technology, provides financial grants, educates
the public and advocates inter-municipal partnerships.
“Our goal is to use this money for system-wide projects
that most cost-effectively tackle the region’s wet weather
problems and help communities comply with the consent agreements,”
said Schombert.
Under EPA grant conditions, the $2.5 million, appropriated from
the State and Tribal Assistance Grant category of the Clean Water
Act, must be matched by 45 percent in local municipal funds, private
grants or state dollars. That means for every federal grant dollar
spent, 80 cents must be obtained from local or state funds.
With the help of a Pennsylvania state grant, 3RWW recently coordinated
and funded a system-wide manhole mapping project to help municipalities
meet their consent order requirements. Using Global Positioning
System (GPS) satellite technology, mapping crews accurately recorded
the horizontal and vertical locations of more than 100,00 manholes
throughout 4,000 miles of sewer collection system.
“This regional approach saved the communities up to $9 million,”
said Schombert. “It is the goal of 3 Rivers Wet Weather
to spend our grant dollars as cost-effectively as possible to
help all of the ALCOSAN communities.”
The next project 3RWW will embark upon is a regional flow monitoring
plan that will save communities up to $18 million.
About 3 Rivers Wet Weather Demonstration Program
The 3 Rivers Wet Weather Demonstration Program (3RWWDP) is a
non-profit organization created in 1998 to support Allegheny County
municipalities in addressing the region’s aging and deteriorating
sewer and storm water infrastructure. During nearly every rainfall
or snow melt, excess water gets into the municipal sewer systems,
which results in untreated sewage overflowing into area streams
and rivers—a violation of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA).
Municipalities in the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN)
service area now face an EPA Administrative Consent Order to begin
compliance with the CWA.
3RWWDP, a joint partnership between the Allegheny County Health
Department (ACHD) and ALCOSAN, helps to promote the most cost-effective,
long-term, sustainable solutions through benchmarking sewer technology,
providing financial grants, educating the public and advocating
inter-municipal partnerships
Contact: Tracy Schubert
Public Outreach Manager
412-578-8197 · Fax: 412-578-8065
tschubert@achd.net
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