Struggling Towns Decry Unfunded Sewer Mandate
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Claudia Cooley's collected more than 2,000 signatures against runaway sewage bills in Clairton, where hundreds have had their water shut off and others are going without food or medicine just to keep it on.
"I went to the sewage meeting, I went to the city council meeting. Their response is the same: deal with it, we don't have any way to help you," said Cooley.
Now at least one state senator has heard her plea.
"It's a federally unfunded mandate, it's nothing more than a backdoor tax from the federal government and it's really going to take people's homes away from them," said Sen. James Brewster.
Every time it rains -- raw sewage spills into our rivers and streams -- and the federal government has ordered local sewage authorities to fix that. Only problem is it'll cost billions and the feds aren't supplying any funds to do it.
"Nobody wants sewage to going into the rivers, it'll impact our drinking water, but the fact of the matter is local communities don't have the money to pay for these things," said Brewster.
In economically struggling Clairton they need a new treatment plant and sewer lines so the bills have more than tripled in the past three years from about $30 a month to $100.
"It's harder to make it every month," said one resident. "You can't keep draining what you have in your savings to keep going."
But while the state Department of Environmental Protection has heard the complaints, it says it's under orders to clean up the rivers.
"It's a federal law, it is a federal mandate," said John Poister with the DEP. "This has to be -- this has to be done."
So now Brewster says he'll take the concerns up the ladder to our senators and congressional representatives.
"If we need to go to our Washington group and try to get relief, try to get some funding, this is a big deal. This is not a small ticket item," he said.
Question is will Uncle Sam listen? Pittsburgh and every other municipality in the state are under the same orders, but the feds have shown no inclination to pay.
Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter
