WHEREAS, the United States Department of Justice, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation have formally provided notice of their intent to initiate enforcement action to collect civil penalties and require corrective measures to be implemented on the wastewater collection and treatment system operated by The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County (“Metropolitan Government”); and,

WHEREAS, the United States of America, on behalf of the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, is prepared to file a complaint in the United States District Court alleging that the Metropolitan Government has violated the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251, et seq.; and,

WHEREAS, the State of Tennessee, on behalf of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, is prepared to file a complaint against the Metropolitan Government for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act and the Tennessee Water Quality Control Act, T.C.A. § 69-3-101, et seq.; and,

WHEREAS, United States Environmental Protection Agency and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation acknowledge the great progress that the Metropolitan Government has made in addressing problems within its sewer system such as greatly reducing the frequency and volume of its sanitary sewer overflows and combined sewer overflows; and

WHEREAS, as announced at an event with United States Environmental Protection Agency, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and Metropolitan Government held on the bank of the Cumberland River in November, 2002, 33 miles of the Cumberland River was removed from the United States Environmental Protection Agency list of impacted waters of the State, for pathogens, reflecting the benefits of Metropolitan Government’s Overflow Abatement Program; and

WHEREAS, Metropolitan Government certifies that it has documentation that the following accomplishments have been achieved between 1990 and 2007:
o a reduction in the volume of sanitary sewer overflows by 99%;
o a reduction in the frequency of sanitary sewer overflows by 45%;
o a reduction in the number of sanitary sewer overflow locations from 164 to 27;
o
o the completion of over 260 projects to rehabilitate, parallel, or replace sewer lines, improve the capacity and reliability of sewer pumping stations, provide in-system storage for flow equalization, and increase waste water treatment plant capacity;
o
o the rehabilitation of over 317 miles of its wastewater collection system and the removal of over 3 billion gallons of inflow/infiltration annually from its wastewater collection system;
o
o a reduction in the frequency of combined sewer overflow discharges by 59%;
o
o a reduction in the volume of combined sewer overflow discharges by 72%;
o
o a reduction in the duration of combined sewer overflow discharges by 83%; and
o
o a decrease of 15% in the average daily flow of sewage for treatment while experiencing an increase of 37% in the number of customers and 40% in the total footage of sewers reflecting the removal of inflow/infiltration into its wastewater collection system; and,
o

WHEREAS, in response to 1990 and 1999 Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation orders to eliminate all non-compliant combined sewer overflow discharges by December 31, 2007, Metropolitan Government reduced the number of combined sewer overflow outfalls from 32 to 8; and

WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Government through its Metropolitan Department of Water and Sewerage Services assisted by the Department of Law has conducted extensive negotiations with staff and attorneys of the United States Department of Justice, United States Environmental Protection Agency and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation in order to determine necessity and reasonableness of the corrective measures to be taken by the Metropolitan Government and the amount of penalty to be imposed; and,

WHEREAS, the entry of the proposed Consent Decree will avoid prolonged, complicated, and expensive litigation with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Tennessee; and

WHEREAS, the proposed Consent Decree, which establishes the terms and conditions for the settlement of the enforcement action, is attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit A and includes, but is not limited to, the following provisions:

1. Payment of a civil penalty in the amount of $282,019 to the United States Government;
2. Completion of certain specified environmental projects at the direction of United States Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Tennessee as set forth in Appendix E of the Consent Decree that (1) address water quality issues presented by septic tank failures in the 40 year old Brandywine Subdivision and (2) address water quality issues presented by septic tank failures in the Sanitarium Road area, both projects that, together, are estimated to cost approximately $2.8 million to complete;
3. Issuance of a grant in the amount of $282,019 over a six year period to a nonprofit environmental organization specified by the State of Tennessee as set forth in Appendix F of the Consent Decree;
4. Achieving compliance with provisions of the Clean Water Act and the Tennessee Water Quality Control Act in a manner set forth in the Consent Decree; and,
5. Imposition of stipulated civil penalties in the event timely compliance is not achieved; and

WHEREAS, the State has directed that the nonprofit organization designated to receive the grant in Appendix F under the proposed Consent Decree shall be the Cumberland River Compact, a nonprofit organization that has agreed to accept the grant as evidenced by the letter attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit B; and,

WHEREAS, the terms and conditions of this proposed Consent Decree will be enforceable by the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, and,

WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the citizens of the Metropolitan Government that the proposed Consent Decree be entered.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:

Section 1. That the proposed Consent Decree, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit A, is hereby approved for entry, and the Department of Law is authorized to execute the same.

Section 2. That, upon entry of the Consent Decree by the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, the Metropolitan Government is authorized to remit a civil penalty in the amount of $282,019 to the United States Government pursuant to the terms of the Consent Decree.

Section 3. That, upon entry of the Consent Decree by the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, the Metropolitan Government shall grant $282,019 to the Cumberland River Compact pursuant to the terms of the Consent Decree, to be payable in 5 annual installments of $50,000 and a final installment of $32,019 in year six.

Section 4. That, upon entry of the Consent Decree by the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, the Metropolitan Government is authorized to perform all corrective and other measures set out in the Consent Decree.

Section 5. That this resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.

Sponsored by: Rip Ryman

Attachment(s) on file in the Metropolitan Clerk's Office

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Referred:	Budget & Finance Committee
Introduced:	August 21, 2007
Substitute Introduced:	August 21, 2007
Adopted:	August 21, 2007
Approved:	August 23, 2007
By: