The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the municipalities and the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority to fix the problem, and Costa said some combination of state grants and low-interest loans is needed. This is doubly important because these storm overflow problems have the potential to delay and even kill residential development and the accompanying economic development.
Jobs are on the line.
Costa also asked the committee to help councils of government, or COGs, with additional funding and incentives for sharing services. In the long run, this is one of the best things we can do to save taxpayers money and help smaller communities survive.