Tredyffrin Township Faces Legal Action Over Sewage Spills In Valley Forge Park
By Paul Kurtz
Two citizens groups say they're ready to take Tredyffrin Township to court over a series of raw sewage spills in Valley Forge National Historical Park.
National Environmental Law Center attorney Heather Govern says an aging 30 inch main has ruptured three times, twice this year, sending millions of gallons of raw sewage into Valley Creek, which is classified as a Class A wild trout stream.
"Every spill of sewage," Govern says, "or intentional discharge is a violation of the law."
Govern's firm is representing Penn Environment and the Valley Forge Chapter of Trout Unlimited. She says allowing raw sewage to pour into the creek that's home to wild brown trout was bad enough, but the township has made matters worse by its seeming indifference to finding solutions to the pipe problem.
"The underlying causes of the sewage spills haven't been addressed," she says. "There's no alternative emergency plan in place. Because of those reasons, we've been compelled to take legal action."
The citizens groups are also blasting the EPA and Pennsylvania Environmental officials for not penalizing Tredyffrin over the sewage spills.
In a statement released on its website, Tredyffrin Township says its aware of the impending lawsuit and went on to say..."When each of the breaks in the VCTS occurred, the Township's reaction was immediate, as was its notification to the public and to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ("PaDEP"), representatives from which were onsite quickly to monitor the repairs. PaDEP has been complimentary of the Township's response times to the breaches. The Township and DEP have been in continuous contact since the breaches."
Read the entire statement from of Tredyffrin Township:
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