Today, the U.S. EPA announced that it will join CLF’s lawsuit against the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) for violations of the Clean Water Act. The suit, filled by CLF in U.S. District Court in February 2010, states that BWSC has failed to control polluted discharges from its storm water system, allowing it to carry raw sewage and excessive levels of bacterial, copper and zinc into Boston’s waterways, threatening the health and well-being of the surrounding communities.

BOSTON, MA  December 22, 2010 – The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) has issued the following statement in response to the motion filed today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stating that it will join CLF’s lawsuit against the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) for violations of the Clean Water Act:

“The complaint against the Boston Water and Sewer Commission documents serious failures in the system that are allowing ongoing unlawful pollution of Boston’s waterways, including the Charles, Mystic and Neponset Rivers, in some the city’s most economically-challenged communities,” said Christopher Kilian, director of CLF’s Clean Water and Healthy Forests program. “The federal government’s entry into this case is a clear indication of the urgency of the matter and the priority EPA places on it. BWSC’s inability to maintain a system that ensures clean water is a violation of the law and an affront to the people of Boston. The United States agrees with CLF that BWSC must make a major commitment now to improve water quality, as other cities have done, and restore these resources to health for everyone’s benefit.” More>>

(Photo credit: Cynthia Liebman)

The view from the corner office at CLF Boston is not always glamorous.  For the past few days, the sights and sounds outside our building on Summer Street have been dominated by environmental remediation trucks.  With their humming, rattling pumps, hoses and generators, it’s admittedly been a little distracting to those of us on the other side of the windows.

However, it’s a welcome intrusion to those of us who know what’s going on under the surface of the street.  The trucks are performing vital maintenance on the underground storm sewers that pipe rainwater from our streets into rivers and out to sea.  When the catch basins under the street grates become clogged with debris and leaves, they no longer trap trash and pollutants as designed.  So regular clean-outs (often done with a large vacuum truck) are vital.  And the network of sewer pipes under the City of Boston (like many municipalities) is aging and needs repair as well.  Rumor has it that cameras are being installed to monitor for leaks or cracks in the pipes underground.

As an organization that’s spent decades fighting for clean water throughout New England, the maintenance of the water infrastructure right under our feet is one of those scenes that, quite literally, drives the original goals–and results–of our advocacy home.