Good afternoon.
On the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Federal Clean Water Act, I am pleased to announce today "Clean Water Atlanta", a comprehensive and long-term action plan to ensure clean water in our great City for the next generation.
We all know that the future of Atlanta depends on economic growth; it depends on jobs for all who want to work; it depends on keeping the City an affordable place to live; and it depends on an attractive and enjoyable quality of life.
But what we sometimes forget is that all of these things – growth, jobs, affordability and quality of life – depend on something even more fundamental. They all depend on – clean water.
“Clean Water Atlanta” is the City’s aggressive new program to ensure that we have clean drinking water for all residents and clean wastewater for our downstream neighbors. It is our long-term program to ensure our future.
Many of you are already aware of the critical issues surrounding our drinking water. We are working hard on fixing those problems, and I expect that I will back before the end of the year to address the future of our drinking water system.
But today I want to focus on wastewater. Today I want to focus on our responsibility to have a sewer system that works, on our responsibility for clean streams and clean rivers. We owe this to our neighbors, to our children and to the environment. It is our responsibility to future generations.
I am joined today by a veritable “who’s who” when it comes to clean water and the environment. This powerful group standing with me includes experts not just from Atlanta, but from across the country. You can see how important this issue is by the quality of these people, all of whom share my commitment to clean water.
Let me take a moment to introduce everyone.
First, let me introduce the members of City Council.
Next, I would like to introduce Dr. Wayne Clough, the President of Georgia Tech. For the past four months Dr. Clough has led a panel of national experts analyzing the issue of combined sewer overflows – or CSO’s. CSO’s are just one part of the City’s overall sewer issues, but fixing the CSO problem in a timely and cost effective way that ensures high water quality is a key part of Clean Water Atlanta. Dr. Clough is joined by most of his fellow Panel members including Jeff Hilliard, Cecil Leu-Hing, Mike Marcotte, Bruce Beck, and Nancy Wheatley. This is an incredibly experienced and talented group of individuals, with expertise in the environment, in water pollution, in engineering, in law, and, of course, in sewer solutions. I am proud to say that most of Clean Water Atlanta is based on the advice and counsel of this unique group.
We are joined also by three people who have a very strong interest in Atlanta’s sewer problems. First is Mr. Jimmy Palmer, Administrator for Region 4 of the Environmental Protection Agency here in Atlanta. Next is Jeff Larson of Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division. And last, but certainly not least, is Sally Bethea of the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. This, too, is a unique group, since they represent the three environmental watchdog organizations – public and private; federal and state – that have sued the City to make sure we do the right thing with respect to our sewers and clean water. I suspect that today marks the first time the City of Atlanta and these three organizations have been on both the same page and the same platform regarding Atlanta’s sewers.
Also joining us today is Art Horowitz with the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS is the country’s preeminent water quality monitoring organization, and as you will see later, the City has developed a long-term partnership with the USGS regarding our streams and rivers.
Also joining us are: Sam Williams, the President of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce; Jack White of Southeast Water another respected environmental organization; [others].
And finally, from our staff here at the City, I am joined by Jack Ravan; John Griffin; Lynnette Young; [others].
Now in the presence of this most impressive group let me talk about Clean Water Atlanta in a little more detail.
Clean Water Atlanta is a long term program. Clean Water Atlanta is a comprehensive program. And most importantly, Clean Water Atlanta is an action program.
When it comes to sewers and clean water, I’m not interested in delay. We’ve already had too much delay in Atlanta. When it comes to sewers and clean water, I’m not interested in short term solutions. We’ve already had too many band-aids in Atlanta. And when it comes to sewers and clean water, I’m not interested in the easy answers. We’ve avoided the tough decisions for too long in Atlanta.
What I am interested in is creating the cleanest streams and rivers of any large city in America. And that is the goal of Clean Water Atlanta. My commitment to you is to create the cleanest urban streams and rivers in the country within a decade.
Let me outline – by briefly addressing each of the five points of the program – how we are going to achieve that goal.
Point one of Clean Water Atlanta: we are going to dramatically reduce stormwater flooding and pollution in Atlanta. Stormwater – or polluted runoff – causes flooding all over our City, and it also causes 80% of the pollution found in the Chattahoochee River. No city can be serious about cleaning its streams without focusing on the pervasive problem of polluted runoff.
Under Clean Water Atlanta, we will first develop a long term master plan – identifying specific projects city-wide – to reduce stormwater flooding and pollution. Second, we will create a Stormwater Utility to appropriately fund these improvements. And third, as we address the stormwater pollution issues, we will maximize the use of natural greenspace solutions to clean our water. I have directed Jack Ravan, the City’s Commissioner of Watershed Management, to begin the planning process immediately; to have a stormwater utility up and running before the end of 2003; and to begin at least two major greenspace initiatives in 2003.
And since Clean Water Atlanta is a program for all Atlanta, and because I am committed to public involvement in decision-making, I am directing Mr. Ravan to develop a program for public involvement in all aspects of the stormwater utility and its implementation.
Point two. Clean Water Atlanta will put an end – permanently – to the sewer spills that occur 1,000 times per year in our sanitary sewer system. For the past three years, most attention has been focused on combined sewer overflows – a serious problem, but one that concerns just 15% of the City. Under Clean Water Atlanta, we are going to meet head on the challenge of ending the environmental devastation that occurs from the daily sewer spills in the remaining 85% of our city.
We will end these spills through an aggressive program of preventive maintenance, of strict enforcement of the City’s grease trap ordinance, and of inspection and repair of existing sewer pipes. We call this program “Operation Clean Sewer”, and it has been underway now for 45 days. Our goal is to clean or repair 25% of our 1500 mile sanitary sewer system each year – a goal of about one mile per day. This will put us in line with the “best in class” cities across the country.
We will report monthly on the progress of this program, and you can find detailed information about the number of miles of pipe cleaned, grease and debris removed, restaurants inspected, and – most importantly – the number of sewer spills, all posted on the new website we are developing, “cleanwateratlanta.org”. We want you to hold us accountable for achieving specific results.
As a part of Operation Clean Sewer – and this is truly important – I am today directing Jack Ravan to put in place an action plan under which the City will meet its Sanitary Sewer Consent Decree obligations two years earlier than required under the federal court order.
For too long the City has responded to urgent problems by seeking delays. Clean Water Atlanta is an action program, and I will not allow us to seek any delays in meeting our clean water obligations. So I committing to EPA and EPD, to City Council, to the many environmental groups joining me today, and to every resident of Atlanta, that we will finish all of our Consent Decree requirements by 2012 – two years ahead of schedule.
Point three. We have entered into a partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey to run the country’s most intensive water quality monitoring program. Art Horowitz is here from the U.S. Geological Survey, and Art, I understand we have the first check for you today, so that the Survey can get started on its work.
We will initially monitor and sample 40 sites across Atlanta – including every major stream and river – to provide a comprehensive view of current water quality issues. We will then permanently monitor 20 sites over the next decade. This program will allow us to identify sources of pollution. It will allow us to crack down on specific violators. It will allow us to track our progress in cleaning up our neighborhood streams.
To ensure that we maintain this program over the long-term, I have asked Sally Bethea and the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper – one of the most respected water quality organization in the State – to take on the formal oversight of the program. The Riverkeeper will put together a team of environmental organizations to serve as the City’s Advisory Group for Water Monitoring. This group will make sure that the City’s program fulfills its potential.
The fourth point of Clean Water Atlanta’s five point program is to ensure professional implementation of the program. I have directed Jack Ravan, Commissioner of Watershed Management, to create two new positions – an administrative director and a financial director for Clean Water Atlanta. The administrative director will have full-time responsibility for ensuring the City meets its obligations under the Consent Decrees. The financial director will make sure that the City is optimizing the use of its financial resources in running this $3 billion effort. I am pleased to announce that Rob Hunter, a long-time Atlanta and respected engineer, has accepted the leadership position of Clean Water Atlanta. We expect to announce a financial director shortly.
Finally – point five of Clean Water Atlanta – fixing our long-standing combined sewer overflows.
I want to thank Dr. Clough and his Panel of experts for dedicating so much of their time and expertise to this issue. You will recall that four months ago I issued an Administrative Order creating the Clean Water Advisory Panel, charging the group with reviewing all of the technical information on CSO’s and formulating an appropriate plan of action that would satisfy the federal Consent Decree.
Dr. Clough delivered the Panel’s report to me last Friday. I will let Dr. Clough talk about the specifics of his recommendations and about how the Panel came to reach its conclusions. But before he begins I do want to make some important points.
First, I could not be more pleased with the panel’s recommendation. It achieves the highest water quality at the lowest cost within the shortest time possible. Because of this, I have already submitted to EPA and EPD the recommendation of this independent panel of experts as the City’s own plan. We are hopeful that EPA and EPD will approve the plan shortly so that the City can start with the job of cleaning our streams and rivers without delay.
Second, I am pleased with this plan because it significantly advances the goal of full sewer separation. When I came into office the City had a formal policy to achieve full sewer separation within 25 years. I believe in separation, and I intend to keep the City’s commitment to full separation in that time frame.
By following the Clough plan, I will be doing my part – in my four years in office – to move toward the 25 year goal. We currently have 85% separation in the City. Under the Clough plan, we will reach 90% separation in just 4 years. That puts us well ahead of schedule in meeting the 25 year goal.
Finally, I am pleased with the Clough plan because it lays the groundwork for full sewer separation in a way that improves water quality. Many of you understand that separation alone actually results in more pollution, not less. That is because separation alone does not provide for treatment of polluted stormwater runoff.
One of the reasons that the Clough plan is so compelling is that it provides a way to ensure that any future sewer separation has a built-in way – through tunnel storage and treatment – to treat polluted stormwater.
Without stealing any more thunder than I already have, let me introduce Wayne Clough to talk about his Panel’s recommendation on CSO’s.