The Associated Press
SEATTLE — The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the city of Seattle and King County to reduce the amount of untreated wastewater that flows into Puget Sound.
The EPA compliance order issued Wednesday found Seattle violated its wastewater discharge permit during a March 2008 investigation. The order requires the city to do more to reduce wastewater overflows, including preparing an emergency response plan.
A separate order requires King County to upgrade one of its treatment plants and submit a plan to monitor outfalls.
The EPA says both municipalities have agreed to increase efforts to protect Puget Sound from wastewater overflows during severe rainstorms.
The agency says that in 2007 Seattle’s sewer system overflowed 249 times, and King County’s system overflowed 87 times.
