New Report: Unfunded EPA Sewer Mandates a Massive Drain on Rust Belt Economies

NEW YORK, NY — As Flint draws the nation’s eyes toward its water supply, another water crisis lies beneath our feet, threatening to cost struggling postindustrial economies billions of dollars. A new Manhattan Institute report uncovers how the Environmental Protection Agency’s legally mandated retrofitting of “combined sewers” (those that channel storm-water runoff and sanitary waste into the same pipes) comes at an outsized cost to taxpayers who are unlikely even to be aware of it.

Author Aaron Renn explains that due to early sewer design, many Rust Belt cities are now being slapped with billions of dollars in sewer remediation costs. While these sewer projects will improve water quality and reduce flooding, they come with a hefty price tag. Many of the cities with combined sewers are already struggling economically, and the projected cost of these combined sewer overflow (CSO) remediation projects totals $29 billion for the 31 cities from which the EPA has obtained consent decrees.

The costs vary from city to city, but a few examples highlight the magnitude. Cleveland’s sewer project will cost an estimated $2.7 billion dollars, while Philadelphia expects to spend $2.4 billion. The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District describes its $4.7 billion sewer project as “equivalent to constructing 11 Busch Stadiums, rebuilding I-64 nine times, or erecting seven new Mississippi bridges.” But unlike those construction projects, this is one the average citizen will never notice.

To help ensure city budgets aren’t swept away by CSO remediation mandates, the report details several policy recommendations including:

• Embracing green-infrastructure solutions,
• Optimizing local sewer rates and financing,
• Revising federal affordability criteria,
• Restoring direct federal grants for CSO compliance, and
• Redirecting other funding streams to CSO remediation.

Beyond policy, it is crucial that the public become more aware of the CSO-remediation challenge and its immense costs.

Click here to read the full report