The U.S. and the state of New York have entered into a civil consent decree with Mount Vernon to resolve ongoing litigation regarding the city’s “non-compliance with Clean Water Act requirements for municipal storm sewers, which has caused raw sewage to be discharged into the Bronx and Hutchinson Rivers.”

“This important settlement provides a path forward for the City of Mount Vernon to comply with the Clean Water Act, protect water quality, and address the needs of its residents who are living with the unlawful discharge of sewage and illicit pollutants,” said Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

The U.S. sued Mount Vernon in June 2018 alleging in the complaint that since at least January 2012, Mount Vernon had failed to comply with these permit obligations and, as a result, had allowed raw sewage to flow into its storm sewer system” which were then discharged into the rivers.

The DOJ says Mount Vernon has made progress despite some hiccups along the way. It says that the state “has provided or committed to provide significant financial assistance” to the city to fund the repairs to the sewers – a cost that the city estimates will be “in excess of $100 million.”