* Warning: This is an unofficial, introductory copy of the bill.
The official copy considered by the City Council is the first reader copy.
Introductory*
City of Baltimore
Council Bill R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmembers Burnett, Cohen, Dorsey
A Resolution Entitled
A Council Resolution concerning
title
Investigative Hearing - Building Backups of Untreated Sewage
For the purpose of inviting representatives from the Department of Public Works, the Law Department, the Health Department, and the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management to appear before the City Council to discuss the effectiveness and sufficiency of measures being taken to address basement backups of raw sewage in the City.
body
Recitals
Exposure to raw sewage poses a serious risk to human health. Raw sewage contains a variety
of microorganisms, viruses, bacteria, and parasites that can cause serious illnesses including
cholera, hepatitis, cryptosporidiosis, and giardiasis. In addition, moisture in homes, including
moisture from sewage backups, can cause the growth of toxic fungi and mold. Among other health risks, mold can trigger asthma attacks.
Cleaning up and disinfecting interior spaces after a sewage backup, or securing a licensed contractor to perform that work, is a costly and traumatic endeavor that poses economic hardships to many Baltimore City residents.
In 2002, Baltimore City entered into a Consent Decree with the Environmental Protection
Agency (“EPA”) and the Maryland Department of the Environment (“MDE”) to address
violations of the federal Clean Water Act from discharges of untreated sewage from Baltimore’s
collection system into the Back River, Patapsco River, the Chesapeake Bay, and other waters of
the United States.
Under t...
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