FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                   ENR
TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1995                                DOJ (202) 616-0189
                                                         EPA (202) 260-1384
                                                         TDD (202) 514-1888

       DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AGREES TO MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECT
                  IN SETTLEMENT OF CLEAN WATER DISPUTE

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The District of Columbia will take steps to assure
proper operation of its Blue Plains sewage treatment plant and implement an
experimental technology to reduce nitrogen discharges from that plant to the
Chesapeake Bay under a consent decree filed in federal court today.  The
settlement, announced by the Department of Justice and the Environmental
Protection Agency, settles two civil actions alleging violations of the Clean
Water Act.  
     The agreement makes the District the first local jurisdiction to take a
significant step toward meeting an EPA goal set for the year 2000, to reduce
the amount of nitrogen discharged into the Chesapeake Bay by 40 percent, the
Department said.  The pledge was made by the Environmental Protection Agency,
Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and the District.  
     The Department, in filing the action on behalf of EPA in U.S. District
Court in Washington, said the District will test, then implement a new
technology to reduce the discharge of the pollutants.  
     Assistant Attorney General Lois J. Schiffer, head of the Environmental
and Natural Resources Division, said, "This agreement represents a major step
forward in protecting the Chesapeake Bay and the residents of the Washington
metropolitan area.  The District worked hard with EPA and this Department to
agree to implement new technology for nitrogen reduction and to assure improved operation of the whole plant."
     Peter H. Kostmayer, EPA Region III Administrator, said, "The District's
biological nitrogen reduction (BNR) project at Blue Plains is the largest
effort of its kind ever undertaken. The success of the BNR project will not
only improve the environmental quality of the bay, it will add another
technical tool to our remedial toolbox that may benefit facilities across the
country and abroad."     
     If successful at Blue Plains, the new technology could also be implemented at other large sewage treatment plants, he said.
     Today's decree resolves two civil actions the United States filed
alleging that the District had violated the Clean Water Act by exceeding the
limits on discharges of pollution set in the plant's operating permit and by
failing to operate and maintain the plant properly, and requires the District
to pay a $500,000 civil penalty.
     While the cases were pending, the District had improved the operation of
the Blue Plains plant and reduced the number of permit violations, the
Department said.  
     The decree also requires the District to review its practices and
procedures for purchasing maintenance supplies and replacement parts and
establish a set of strict "operational capability" requirements that specify
how many pieces of critical equipment are to be maintained in operable
condition at all times and how those pieces of equipment are to be operated.
     Notice of the decree will be published in the Federal Register. 
Interested parties have 30 days in which to comment.
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95-040