South Bend, Ind., to Improve Sewer System to Reduce Overflows into Lake Michigan Tributary

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the city of South Bend, Ind., has agreed to make an estimated $509.5 million worth of improvements to its combined sewer system to significantly reduce raw sewage overflows to the St. Joseph River, a tributary of Lake Michigan.

Currently South Bend annually discharges into the St. Joseph River a total of more than 2 billion gal of untreated sewage during 80 events. After implementing the improvements required under the settlement, South Bend will reduce the number of raw sewage discharge events by 95% to only four during a typical year of rainfall. The reduced discharges will result in preventing more than 700,000 lb of pollutants from entering the St. Joseph River each year. The state of Indiana is a co-plaintiff and a signatory to the proposed consent decree.

South Bend's combined sewer system collects and conveys to the city’s wastewater treatment plant storm water, sanitary sewage and other pollutants from South Bend and other portions of St. Joseph County. During wet weather events, and during some dry weather periods, a portion of the sewage that flows through South Bend's combined sewers is not conveyed all the way to the plant and instead is discharged into the St. Joseph River.

The Justice Department and EPA alleged that South Bend's combined sewer overflows (CSOs) violated the Clean Water Act because they exceeded limitations and conditions in South Bend's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. The settlement requires South Bend to pay a civil penalty of $88,200 for the violations, which will be divided equally between the U.S. and the state of Indiana. South Bend also has agreed to spend a minimum of $75,000 on a supplemental environmental project to reduce pollutants in Bowman Creek, a tributary of the St. Joseph River.

"By substantially reducing the volume of untreated sewage and pollutants entering the St. Joseph River, this settlement will improve water quality and protect the health of people who use that river," said U.S. attorney David Capp.

"This consent decree requires South Bend to prevent the flow of raw sewage into the St. Joseph River," added EPA Region 5 administrator Susan Hedman. "When the city completes the work required under this settlement, the water will be cleaner and healthier for those who paddle and fish in the river."

Source: U.S. EPA