Public Notification Requirements for Combined Sewer Overflows in the Great Lakes Basin
On January 8, 2018, EPA published the final Public Notification Requirements for Combined Sewer Overflows to the Great Lakes. The rule implements Section 425 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, which requires EPA to work with the Great Lakes States to establish public notification requirements for combined sewer discharges to the Great Lakes. The requirements address signage, initial notification of local public health departments and other potentially affected entities, initial notification of the public, annual notice provisions, and requires the development of a public notification plan.
This rule protects public health by ensuring timely notification to the public and to public health departments, public drinking water facilities and other potentially affected public entities, including Indian tribes. It provides additional specificity beyond existing public notification requirements to ensure timely and consistent communication to the public regarding CSO discharges to the Great Lakes Basin. Timely notice may allow the public and affected public entities to take steps to reduce the public’s potential exposure to pathogens associated with human sewage, which can cause a wide variety of health effects, including gastrointestinal, skin, ear, respiratory, eye, neurologic, and wound infections.
The Developing a CSO Public Notification Plan Checklist (pdf) is intended to help local communities develop a CSO public notification plan that reflects community specific details. This plan should reflect input from the health department and any potentially impacted public entities and include any specific state notification requirements in addition to the federal rule requirements listed.
The CSO Public Notification Elements Checklist (pdf) outlines the minimum elements for the initial, supplemental, and annual notices that provide information to the public about CSO discharges to the Great Lakes Basin.