On Thursday, the Assembly Environment Committee released a bill
that would allow sewage treatment plants off the hook for
expelling pollutants into our waterways. Bill A3128 would no
longer qualify certain types of sewage and sewage sludge
discharged from a public sewer system or treatment plant as
hazardous substances under the “Spill Compensation and Control
Act”. Currently the Spill Act includes industrial waste and
toxic chemicals in its definition of sewage sludge but this bill
would change that. Whole sewage systems could be exempt
including if pipes break or pumping stations fail to work. This
legislation is not only a threat to the Clean Water Act but to
every major waterway in the state of New Jersey. Under this bill
sewage authorities will be able to dump sewage sludge or
partially treated sewage into our waterways and not be held
accountable. This legislation is a threat to clean water and our
environment. Along with the Sierra Club, the New Jersey
Chemistry Council, the New Jersey Business and Ind