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EPA Gives More than $650,000 to Cape Charles to Stop Sewer Overflows to Chesapeake Bay

Release Date: 04/09/2009
Contact Information: David Sternberg, 215-814-5548 sternberg.david@epa.gov

PHILADELPHIA (April 9, 2009) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today it has awarded a $662,900 grant to Cape Charles, Northampton County, Va. to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows at the Mason Avenue pump station, the main pump station of the town’s wastewater collection system.

The sanitary overflow is located 40 feet from Cape Charles Harbor, which is connected to the Chesapeake Bay.

“This grant reflects EPA’s commitment to rebuild our infrastructure to stem the tide of sanitary sewer pollution. It is another important step in our vigorous effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay,” said Jon Capacasa, director of the water protection division for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region.

The grant, which is being funded through the State and Tribal Grant Program, will be used to install 2,000 feet of sewer lines to divert wastewater flow from Mason Avenue to the Cape Charles wastewater treatment plant.

Cape Charles will also upgrade four wastewater pump stations—Mason Avenue, Pine Street, Plum Street and Washington Avenue—replacing pumps and electrical controls and making other necessary repairs.

Upgrading the pump stations will improve their performance and increase their capacity. The total cost of the project is $1.2 million.

The town is required to correct this sanitary overflow as part of a Feb. 2006 letter of agreement with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

For more information about protecting the Chesapeake Bay, please visit: http://www.chesapeakebay.net/