Under proposal Baton Rouge will also complete additional sewer system enhancements

(DALLAS – Jan. 19, 2012) The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) today proposed that Baton Rouge be given additional time to upgrade its sewage treatment plants. As part of the proposal, Baton Rouge wastewater treatment plants will undertake additional projects to further reduce sanitary sewer overflows and ensure Clean Water Act compliance. 

Baton Rouge has been upgrading its North and South treatment plants under a consent decree entered by the court in March 2002. Today’s proposal would extend the deadline from Jan. 1, 2015 to Jan. 1, 2018, and include implementation of a supervisory control and data acquisition system and installation of emergency generators at over 400 pump stations used in the sewage collection system. 

The proposed consent decree modification will be lodged with the federal District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana pending solicitation of public comment on the proposed modification. Approval by the District Court is required before any modification of the 2002 consent decree would be effective. 

More about activities in EPA Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.html 


EPA audio file is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/jan2012.html