Agencies recommend extension for B.R. sewer improvements

Baton Rouge would receive a three-year extension on its deadline to upgrade its sewage treatment plants under a proposal recommended by three federal and state agencies. The U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality today proposed that Baton Rouge be allowed to undertake additional projects to further reduce sanitary sewer overflows and ensure Clean Water Act compliance. The proposal would extend the compliance deadline from Jan. 1, 2015, to Jan. 1, 2018. Under the new plan, the city would be required to implement further enhancements, including a supervisory control and data acquisition system and emergency generators at more than 400 pump stations used in the sewage collection system. Baton Rouge has been upgrading its north and south treatment plants under a consent decree entered by the federal District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana in March 2002. The new proposal is awaiting approval by the court, which must approve any modifications to the 2002 decree. The court will seek public comments on the matter before reaching a decision.