Lebanon, N.H. is being recognized by the U.S. Environmental Agency (EPA) for stopping the overflow and discharge of certain types of wastewater into the Connecticut River, the agency announced recently.
By eliminating combined-sewer overflow outfalls (CSOs), the City of Lebanon also removed the need for the consent decree brought by the EPA against the town in 2009, the agency stated in the Jan. 18 announcement. According to the announcement, the City of Lebanon completed multiple sewer separation projects in the decade since the decree and in 2021, the city had no discharges from CSO outfalls.
"This is a significant accomplishment," EPA New England Acting Regional Administrator Deb Szaro said in the announcement. "The City of Lebanon's success in eliminating combined sewer overflows into the Connecticut River in accordance with the Consent Decree benefits downstream communities with improved water quality."
Combined sewer systems, a single-pipe system designed to collect both sanitary sewage and stormwater runoff and convey it to a treatment plant, can overflow in wet weather and discharge a combination of wastewater and stormwater into local waterways, according to the EPA. In 2009, the EPA claimed Lebanon had violated the Clean Water Act based on its CSO outfalls into the Connecticut, Mascoma and Great Brook rivers.
"Prior to the Consent Decree, the City was discharging up to nearly 14 million gallons of combined wastewater and stormwater per year from as many as 60 to 70 CSO events." the EPA states in the announcement. The discharge contained concentrations of e. coli bacteria high enough to cause violations of federal water-quality standards, according to the EPA.
In addition to completing $70 million in projects that eliminated the CSO outfalls per requirements in the consent decree, the City of Lebanon also upgraded all infrastructure in the project areas, according to the announcement. Improvements were made to the city's water lines; curbing and sidewalks were installed; and road construction and building projects were undertaken to benefit residents.
"The Lebanon CSO project is a true success story of improved water quality and improved infrastructure," New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) Commissioner Robert Scott said in the announcement.
"The City's holistic, comprehensive approach is a model for other communities to emulate and this success solidifies why so many people choose to call our beautiful State of New Hampshire home," Scott said.