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Introduced: Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act of 2007
Washington , DC - Billions of gallons of raw and partially treated sewage are dumped into America's waters each year, and the people living nearby are none the wiser. However, communities may soon be able to receive the information needed to protect its citizens from the dangers of sewage pollution thanks to the hard work of Congressmen Timothy Bishop (D-NY) and Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ). On May 24th these lawmakers together introduced the Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act of 2007(H.R. 2452). If passed, it would be the first law that would require sewage treatment plants to tell Americans exactly what's in their water.
Inadequately treated sewage contains bacteria, viruses, parasites and worms, which in turn infect people that ingest or inhale this sewage with such ailments as gastroenteritis, hepatitis, giardiasis, cryptosporidiosis, dysentery, and other gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. The CDC estimates that in the U.S. each year there are 7.1 million mild to moderate and 560,000 moderate to severe cases of infectious waterborne disease.
The Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act of 2007 establishes strict requirements for sewer operators to notify the public, public health officials, and downstream drinking water intakes when sewage is present in the waters where we swim, fish and boat. The Act requires this notification to be thorough and swift ("as soon as practicable, but not later than 24 hours."), allowing people to take precautions to avoid getting sick. Raising awareness about sewage pollution will both keep people safe and build support for the solutions to reduce sewage pollution.
Attached to this alert is an expanded fact sheet from American Rivers that further details the Right-to-Know legislation and other sewage overflow facts. Also, see the Act for Healthy Waters campaign, a community website fighting to protect the public from harmful sewage pollution in our rivers, at www.healthywaters.org .
The Clean Water Network strongly supports the Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act of 2007!!!
TAKE ACTION NOW!
We encourage you to call and/or write a letter to your Representative and ask them to join as a co-sponsor of HR 2452. A sample letter to your Congressman can be found at the bottom of this page, and can be tailored to your own needs.
In addition to calling/writing your Congressman, we encourage you write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. As well, you can also request a meeting with your paper's editorial writers and ask that they write an editorial supporting the passage of the Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act of 2007.
If your letter or editorial is published - or if your paper weighs in on its own about the Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act - please send a copy to Natalie Roy at natalieroy@cwn.org. It will greatly help in the Network's advocacy efforts.
SAMPLE LETTER TO CONGRESSMAN:
[Today's date]
The Honorable [Name of Congressman]
[Office Address]
Dear [Name of Congressman]
I ask you to support Congressmen Bishop and LoBiondo's "Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act" (H.R. 2452). The Act would help safeguard countless people from unknowingly coming in contact with raw and partially treated sewage in our waters by alerting them when there are local sewage spills and overflows.
The Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act of 2007 establishes strict requirements for sewer operators to notify the public, public health officials, and downstream drinking water intakes when sewage has become present in the waters where we swim, fish and boat. This sort of notification and knowledge will help citizens avoid these polluted areas and the possibility of becoming ill from waterborne pathogens.
Please join with Congressmen Bishop and LoBiondo and others to co-sponsor the Community Right-to-Know Act. This common sense approach to warn people of health risks will help inform and protect the people of the United States from unnecessary illness.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
[Name of Individual and Organization]
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