This hits close to home....remember our last Elkhorn "bubble". I have copied the AW article on this issue below.

Today, as part of River Action Day, advocates from across the country are meeting with their Members of Congress about the need for healthy rivers in our communities.

Sewage pollution is high on the agenda. Every year, more than 850 billion gallons of raw or partially-treated sewage are dumped into the waters where we fish, swim and play. As a result, millions of people become ill each year from unnecessary contact with disease-causing pathogens found in sewage.

Astonishingly, there is no nationwide requirement for sewage treatment plants to notify the public when these sewage spills and overflows occur, placing people and their families at risk. Knowledge is a powerful first line of defense, and we all deserve to know when our favorite streams and rivers are unfit for playing and paddling.

What you don’t know can hurt you. But you can help fix this problem by asking Congress to pass legislation that requires plant operators to notify the public of sewage spills and overflows. Join river advocates from around the country in urging your Senator to cosponsor the Sewage Overflow Right-to-Know Act today.

Allen thanks for posting this. I was just reading an editorial in Sunday's Lexington Herald-Leader about exactly this problem - no notice of the massive upstream sewage spill on the Town Branch recently.
It's incredible that a treatment plant sewage spill into a stream doesn't require some sort of notification by law!

[www.kentucky.com]

Maybe we as an organization need to focus some effort on helping not only the Sewage Overflow Right-to-Know Act legislation be passed but also lending our collective voices to the Lexington sewer problems as well? We are running Lexington's (and Georgetown's) run-off every time we paddle the Elkhorn...
barryg

Allen,
Could you put together a brief letter that could be sent on behalf of the BWA? Also, everyone could copy that and send it to their representative and ad a personal note. Also, should we notify both the congressman and the senator, or should we approach one first.

Dustin

Here's some more links to learn more about this:

Act for Healthy Rivers:
[www.healthyrivers.org]

Sewage Overflow Right to Know Act
[thomas.loc.gov]:

Write Ben Chandler
[chandler.house.gov]

Write Mitch McConnell
[mcconnell.senate.gov]

This is the letter that I just wrote to Ben Chandler and also submitted to Mitch McConnell.

Dear Rep. Chandler,

The recent and massive sewage spill from the Lexington, KY Town Branch Treatment Plant is a perfect example of why I am writing to urge your support for transparency and full disclosure by government when it comes to public health.

There currently are no federal requirements for wastewater treatment plants to promptly warn the public when there is a sewage spill or overflow.

Representative Chandler this is an outrage, especially since this pollution threatens the lives and health of millions of Americans. Public notification and reporting is needed so people will have the information they need to protect their families - and the rivers they love.

Better notification, monitoring and reporting would save millions of Americans from getting sick every year. The federal legislation I am urging you to support and co-sponsor is the Sewage Overflow Right to Know Act which would help reduce the annual number of human illnesses and deaths from contact with raw sewage by informing Americans of sewer overflows discharging waste into their local waterways.

H.R.2452
Title: To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to ensure that sewage treatment plants monitor for and report discharges of raw sewage, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Bishop, Timothy H. [NY-1] (introduced 5/23/2007)

The bill would:

- Provide notification of sewer overflows by requiring sewage treatment works to:

- Monitor their treatment works for sewage overflows by using a management program or technology that will alert them of sewer overflows in a timely manner.

- Notify the public, public health officials and other affected downstream entities including drinking water suppliers of any sewer overflows that endanger human health.

- Report to state officials or the Environmental Protection Agency on all sewer overflows as soon as practicable within 24 hours of becoming aware of the overflow and follow-up with a written report explaining the duration and volume of the overflow and steps taken to mitigate the overflow prevent recurrence.

- Authorizes millions of dollars in much-needed federal funding each year to implement the above requirements.

Please support this and other vital legislation and help bring transparency and full disclosure by government when it comes to public health.

Thank you,
Barry A. Grimes

Good letter B6! We need to, everyone of us, send such a letter. Thanks Allen for posting this. Let's make some waves over this crap! (Pun intended)
Brent

Barry / Dustin,
Thanks for your replies and ideas. I agree that it would be a great idea for us, the BWA, to respond as a group in support of this bill. I will work on a letter that we could a) each individual could copy / edit and send to Rep. Chandler b) send as a group with supporting signatures as we did with the Chattooga issue.

Right on Barry. Think you wrote an excellent letter.

Wes

All,
I have attached a pdf file that contains the letters that I am sending to Senator McConnell and Congressman Chandler asking for their support of the Sewage Right-to-Know Act. I am asking you to copy and edit the letters with your personal remarks and email them to McConnell and Chandler.

One thing to watch is that the bill numbers are different for the House and Senate versions. There is a timeline that we need to meet. The Senate is holding a hearing on Tuesday and this bill will be reviewed then. You can email your letters to the following addresses:

Congressman Chandler
www.chandler.house.gov

Senator McConnell
www.mcconnell.senate.gov

Allen

Allen:

Thanks Daddyo, I will get one out.

Brent

Address Correction!!!

The letter attachment, in my post above, for Ben Chandler has an incorrect mailing address.

The correct address is:
1021 Majestic Drive, Suite 180
Lexington, KY 40513

Sorry about the mistake, that is what I get for copying and pasting.

Allen