On March 25, 2026, DOJ, on behalf of EPA Region 3, filed a Joint Status Report submitted by the United States and the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) which memorializes a minor modification to the Consent Decree previously entered into by ALCOSAN, the United States, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). ALCOSAN?s publicly owned wastewater treatment plant provides wastewater treatment services to 83 communities in Allegheny County, including the City of Pittsburgh. The 59-acre plant has the capacity to treat 250 million gallons of wastewater per day. The original Consent Decree resolved violations of Section 301 of the CWA and violations of ALCOSAN?s NPDES Permit issued pursuant to Section 402 of the CWA. The minor Consent Decree modification makes the following changes to the current Consent Decree:
- Allows E. coli sampling in place of fecal coliform sampling;
- Allows the elimination of one primary sedimentation tank;
- Revises the list of combined and sanitary sewer outfalls; and
- Updates the definition of the ?Wet Weather Plan? to clarify that this is a plan submitted pursuant to the Consent Decree (and not contained in the Consent Decree).