FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ENR
THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 1997 DOJ (202) 514-2008
EPA (202) 260-4355
TDD (202) 514-1888
UNITED STATES SUES NEW YORK CITY FOR FAILING
TO FILTER CROTON WATER SUPPLY
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Moving to protect public health under the
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the United States today sued New
York City for violating SDWA requirements by failing to filter
drinking water from its Croton water supply. The Croton watershed,
located just north of New York City, supplies ten percent of the
city's drinking water, and in drought conditions supplies up to 30
percent. Drinking water from the Croton system does not pose an
immediate threat to public health, but filtration is required to
assure the safety of the water supply.
The federal Safe Drinking Water Act requires that all surface
water systems, such as Croton, filter water by June 1993, unless
stringent public health criteria are met to make filtration
unnecessary. Filtering drinking water substantially reduces the
risk of waterborne disease in surface water systems, which are more
susceptible to potential contamination from human and animal
wastes, and from microbial contaminants such as giardia and
cryptosporidium. Cryptosporidium has been a contributing cause of
death in some immuno-compromised people, including people with AIDS
and HIV, chemotherapy patients and organ transplant patients.
Under the law, New York City could have applied for a
filtration waiver for the Croton system if it had demonstrated
exceptional water quality and showed that water quality could be
protected without filtering by implementing strict watershed
protection measures. New York City did not apply for a waiver for
the Croton system and has failed to implement its agreement with
the state to build a filtration plant. EPA determined that
filtration was required to ensure protection of public health.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, was
brought jointly by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of
New York and the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of
the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). This lawsuit seeks to ensure that the
law's public health protections are secured with a reasonable and
enforceable schedule for construction of a filtration plant. While
EPA is seeking the most expeditious schedule possible, the choice
of the site for the filtration plant is up to the city. EPA is
sensitive to local siting concerns and will allow reasonable time
for the city to complete an objective study of all sites. New York
State has advised EPA that it will be intervening in this lawsuit
to ensure filtration in compliance with applicable state statutes.
"We brought this lawsuit today to ensure that New Yorkers have
safe water to drink," said Lois Schiffer, Assistant Attorney
General in charge of the Justice Department's Environment and
Natural Resources Division. "We are committed to enforcing the
Safe Drinking Water Act nationwide, because all Americans should be
able to rely on the safety of the water that flows from their
faucets."
"Safe drinking water is our first line of defense in
protecting public health," said Steven M. Herman, EPA Assistant
Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "Today's
action is necessary to protect the health of the more than one
million New Yorkers who drink Croton water. We want to work with
the city to provide citizens with safe, clean drinking water they
can depend on."
"While we are moving today to ensure the filtration of the
Croton system, filtration should always be accompanied by a strong
watershed protection program to provide the most effective barrier
against outbreaks of waterborne disease," said Jeanne M. Fox, EPA
Region 2 Administrator.
"Along with our State colleagues, we hope to resolve this
matter promptly and reach our common goal of bringing the city into
compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act," said United States
Attorney Zachary W. Carter. "Consumers of New York City's water
expect and are entitled to safe and high quality drinking water."
In 1991, New York City stated that it would filter the Croton
system due to the potential long term effects of increased
pollution in its densely developed watershed. The city entered
into an agreement the following year with New York State to build
a filtration plant for Croton by the year 2000. The city has since
failed to implement its schedule to construct the facility, and is
currently in violation of the state agreement.
While New York City currently disinfects the Croton water
supply before distribution, disinfection alone is not sufficient to
eliminate all disease-causing microorganisms. In addition to
disinfection, filtration and source water protection are necessary
to provide city residents with a safe water supply. According to
federal health guidelines, people with severely compromised immune
systems should consult a physician before drinking any water and
should comply fully with any water advisories issued by public
health and government authorities.
Since 1991, New York City has requested, and EPA has granted,
three filtration waivers for the Catskill/Delaware system, which
supplies 90 percent of New York City's drinking water. The
Catskill/Delaware system is not the subject of this action, but the
city must meet strict water quality conditions in order to continue
to avoid filtering water from this system.
In January, federal officials notified New York City of their
intent to file the lawsuit and began negotiations with the city.
The U.S. Government plans additional negotiations to try to reach
a settlement agreement with an enforceable schedule to select and
build a filtration plant.
Nationwide, there are more than 10,600 drinking water systems
that have surface water sources. Of these systems, only 135 have
demonstrated that they can avoid filtration by instituting
aggressive watershed protection programs to maintain exceptional
water quality. None of these systems receive water from areas as
densely populated as the Croton watershed. The remainder of the
nation's surface water systems are required to filter their water.
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