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Municipal Consent Orders

In January 2004, ALCOSAN service area communities signed municipal consent orders related to the assessment and long-term planning of our region’s sewage infrastructure. Under the municipal consent orders, the Environmental Protection Agency assigned enforcement responsibility to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD).

Municipalities operating a combined sewer system (carrying wastewater and stormwater in the same set of pipes) received a “Consent Order and Agreement,” which is enforced by the DEP. Communities with a separate sanitary sewer system (wastewater and stormwater are transported in two separate systems) received an “Administrative Consent Order,” which is enforced by the ACHD. The orders end in 2015, and require communities to complete the following activities:

  • Assess and map the sewer collection system
  • Clean and televise the system
  • Make critical repairs
  • Conduct flow monitoring
  • Develop a long-term wet weather control plan in conjunction with ALCOSAN

Since 2004, municipalities, with the assistance of 3RWW, have been working to complete the consent orders’ compliance requirements.  Detailed timelines show compliance activities beginning in 2004 spanning through 2015. 

Compliance Timeline: 2004-2015

Compliance Timeline: 2012-2026

The Long-Term Wet Weather Control Plan that municipalities and ALCOSAN are required to jointly create must address the sustainable operation and maintenance of the region’s sewage infrastructure through 2046. Municipalities should anticipate that the regulatory agencies will require the implementation of the approved wet weather plan through a legally enforceable agreement or order in the future.

Wet Weather Control Plan Timeline

The complete consent orders signed by communities: