U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) on May 15 unveiled a bipartisan bill to fix the systems that clean up contaminated wastewater and stormwater in his home state and across America.
Rep. LaHood is the lead original cosponsor of the Stop Sewage Overflow Act, H.R. 2776, with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA), which would expand and improve the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grant program.
The EPA’s program awards federal grants to states and municipalities to plan, design and construct combined sewer overflows, sanitary sewer overflows or stormwater management.
Rep. LaHood — who leads 11 Democrats in supporting H.R. 2776 — is concerned about contaminants in the Illinois River from combined sewer overflows (CSOs), which contain untreated or partially treated human and industrial waste, toxic materials, debris, and stormwater, according to the EPA.
“They are a priority water pollution concern for the nearly 860 municipalities across the U.S. that have a combined sewer system,” the EPA said.
Rep. LaHood said that CSOs trigger harmful releases of raw sewage when precipitation exceeds manageable levels.
“As cities with CSOs, like Peoria, have worked to address compliance issues, dealing with federal agencies has been a challenge and our legislation aims to ease the burdensome pressure placed on these communities,” the congressman said.
If enacted, H.R. 2776 would expand funds under the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grant program to $500 million annually and would extend authorization of the program through 2030.
Rep. LaHood said that H.R. 2776 specifically could help Peoria by increasing the city’s opportunity to receive more cost-sharing mechanisms and would help prioritize communities with CSO issues by moving them up the list to receive financial assistance.
“Investing in the cleanup of sewage infrastructure will expand access to cleaner water and our bill ensures local municipalities across the country have access to the resources they need to update outdated sewage systems,” said Rep. LaHood.
The lawmaker added that he will continue to work on a bipartisan basis “to provide Peoria and communities across central and west-central Illinois the proper infrastructure resources they need to keep our communities clean.”