ENROLLED
2018 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 1
BY REPRESENTATIVE HOLLIS
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To create the Sanitary Sewer Systems Overflows Commission to study and make
recommendations on actions necessary to timely report, reduce, and eliminate
sewage overflows.
WHEREAS, a sanitary sewer overflow occurs when there is an overflow, spill, or
release of raw or partially treated sewage from a sanitary sewer collection system out of
manholes and onto city streets, playgrounds, and into streams, before it reaches a sewage
treatment plant; and
WHEREAS, the federal Clean Water Act and the Louisiana Environmental Quality
Act prohibit such discharges of pollutants and also require proper operation and maintenance
of sewage collection systems and treatment facilities; and
WHEREAS, people may come into contact with released raw sewage through
swimming and fishing, in neighborhoods from flooding streets, and through contaminated
drinking water; and
WHEREAS, contact with raw sewage exposes people to a variety of pathogenic
microorganisms, viruses, and intestinal worms and can lead to illnesses such as cholera,
dysentery, hepatitis, and gastroenteritis; and
WHEREAS, the United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that there
are twenty-thousand separate sanitary sewer systems in this country with thousands of
overflows occurring each year; and
WHEREAS, plans for all sewage systems are approved by the state health officer in
the Louisiana Department of Health prior to construction; and
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WHEREAS, permit terms and conditions require wastewater treatment systems to
report such overflows to the Department of Environmental Quality.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
create the Sanitary Sewer Systems Overflows Commission to study and make
recommendations on actions necessary to timely report, reduce, and eliminate sewage
overflows.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the commission shall be comprised of the
following members:
(1) One member shall be a member of the House of Representatives appointed by
the speaker of the House and who shall serve as chairman of the commission.
(2) One member shall be a member of the Senate appointed by the president of the
Senate and who shall serve as vice chairman of the commission.
(3) One member shall be the secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality,
or his designee.
(4) One member shall be the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, or her
designee.
(5) One member shall be the executive director of the Louisiana Rural Water
Association, or his designee.
(6) One member shall be the executive director of the Louisiana Municipal
Association, or his designee.
(7) One member shall be the executive director of the Police Jury Association of
Louisiana, or his designee.
(8) One member shall be the executive director of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin
Foundation, or his designee.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the commission shall not be
compensated for their service on the commission but may seek travel reimbursements from
their respective agencies. A majority of the membership is necessary for a quorum.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the commission shall submit recommendations
to the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment, the House Committee on
Health and Welfare, the House Committee on Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs, the
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Senate Committee on Environmental Quality, the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare,
and the Senate Committee on Local and Municipal Affairs no later than March 1, 2019.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the commission shall terminate on March 1,
2019.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to the secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality, the secretary of the Louisiana
Department of Health, the executive director of the Louisiana Rural Water Association, the
executive director of the Louisiana Municipal Association, the executive director of the Lake
Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, and the executive director of the Police Jury Association
of Louisiana.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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