CITY OF ATLANTA CSO REMEDIAL MEASURES PROGRAM

The City of Atlanta constructed CSO control facilities in the 1980s to 1990s to provide a level of treatment that was approved by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division (EPD) at that time. However, the treated discharge does not meet current Federal and State water quality standards, as determined by the presiding judge in a federal lawsuit and the EPD. To comply with a consent decree, the City must bring its CSOs into compliance by 2007. The consent decree also required several interim steps, including a CSO Remedial Measures Plan with recommendations for long-term improvements. This paper presents a synopsis of the City's recommendations for the longterm control plan (LTCP). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EPD must approve the plan under terms of the consent decree, or make an alternative recommendation.An evaluation of many different technologies was conducted. Because the City is being regulated for compliance on all water quality standards, in addition to the nine minimum controls in EPA's CSO policy, a high level of pollutant removal is required. The City proposed three viable options ranging from separating about 80 percent of the CSO service area (1.25 billion) to solely adding large consolidated storage and treatment facilities (710 million). The preferred option is between these two, with some separation and consolidated storage and treatment facilities capable of treating all storm water runoff from the CSO area (950 million). The City prefers this option because it addresses the strong public sentiment toward sewer separation, meets the consent decree deadline, while maintaining the flexibility to address future storm water regulations.