The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Justice (DOJ), and the State of Illinois have filed a legal complaint against the City of East St. Louis, Illinois. The complaint addresses the city's failure to manage its sewer system according to the Clean Water Act, resulting in numerous illegal discharges of untreated sewage into local water bodies such as the Mississippi River and Whispering Willow Lake.
East St. Louis operates a combined sewer system that transports both sanitary sewage and stormwater through shared pipes. During heavy rainfall, this system releases untreated sewage directly into these water bodies, allegedly violating federal law. Since 2020, there have been over 140 days where untreated sewage was discharged into the Mississippi River from East St. Louis.
Recreational areas downstream of these discharges include swimming and kayaking spots on the Mississippi River and fishing and boating sites at Whispering Willow Lake. The lack of monitoring by East St. Louis impedes EPA's assessment of potential health risks from these discharges, which may contain harmful pathogens like E. coli.
Additionally, East St. Louis maintains a separate sewer system for sanitary sewage only; however, both systems are reportedly in poor condition, leading to further discharge issues that pose public health risks.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. It seeks an order requiring East St. Louis to halt Clean Water Act violations and implement necessary improvements to ensure compliance moving forward.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim from DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division stated alongside Administrator Debra Shore for EPA Region 5 and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul that community members are encouraged to submit Community Statements about sewer overflow events by April 30, 2025.
Nationally, similar enforcement actions have been taken by the United States to compel municipalities to upgrade their sewer infrastructure in line with Clean Water Act standards.
This case was investigated by EPA alongside the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency with legal proceedings managed by attorneys from DOJ's Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Enforcement Section and Illinois Attorney General’s office.
