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Lynchburg honored for upgrades to sewage treatment system

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency joined environmental leaders from Virginia today in recognizing Lynchburg, Va. for efficiently using federal funding to upgrade the city's aging sewage system to reduce sewage overflows into the James River.

"The city of Lynchburg has set a marvelous example for communities that have old and outdated sewage systems by effectively using federal and state funding to make improvements and drastically reduce pollution," said Donald S. Welsh, administrator for EPA's mid-Atlantic region.

Lynchburg has improved its sewer system by reducing combined sewer overflow problems during wet weather. Combined sewer lines carry storm water runoff and sewage to a treatment plant. During wet weather, these sewer lines do not always have the capacity to handle excessive storm water runoff, which causes sewage overflows. The improvements in Lynchburg reduced the sewage overflows into the James River by 80 percent.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality selected Lynchburg to receive EPA's 2006 PISCES award. The award is presented to communities that most effectively and efficiently use funding from the EPA's Clean Water State Revolving Fund program.

The Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program is an innovative method of financing environmental projects. EPA provides a grant to each state, and states use the funds to provide low-interest loans for water quality projects. These projects support the Clean Water Act by protecting environmental health and water quality. In Virginia, the program is managed by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

For information on EPA's PISCES award, visit http://www.epa.gov/owm/cwfinance/cwsrf/2006pisces.htm

Source: U.S. EPA

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