(The Center Square) – Shreveport has already spent more than $450 million addressing wastewater system deficiencies identified by the Environmental Protection Agency, but the city still faces a long road ahead, with costs projected to reach $1 billion over 20 years.
Addressing wastewater system failures is Shreveport’s single largest financial obligation, according to a project report.
In the first five years of a 12-year EPA remediation plan, the city exceeded its original total estimate of $350 million by 29%, decades before the program will be complete. The city agreed to fix its problems in 12 years but now says it needs 15-20 more years.
The city anticipates a decision by year’s end regarding its request for an extension to fulfill those repair obligations. In 2014, the city entered into a consent decree to reduce overflows from its sewer system and resolve violations of the Clean Water Act. Plaintiffs include the Department of Justice, EPA and state of Louisiana.
According to the decree, Shreveport agreed to repair the system in five phases by November 2026. City officials have repeatedly said Shreveport cannot not meet the deadline. The city is relying on the approval of an extension. A project report lists the first two phases as done but progress slowed at the third phase “due to the city’s limited financial resources and inability to fully fund all phase 3 projects,” which came during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, the city focused on cleaning and inspection of sewer lines, assessed and repaired lift stations, continued manhole inspections and evaluations. It also updated hydraulic models, including the Southern Hills interceptor and lift station improvements, according to the annual report.
Shreveport’s inability to successfully manage the infrastructure failure spans four mayors – Cedric Glover, Ollie Tyler, Adrian Perkins and Tom Arceneaux – and three city councils.
Paul Calamita, chairman and managing partner of Virginia-based AquaLaw, is the city’s lead attorney and negotiator. Since 2020, the firm has been paid just under $200,000.
“The city of Shreveport does not comment on ongoing litigation,” Calamita said in an email to The Center Square.
“We’ve been trying to work with the Justice Department and EPA to accomplish the same things in slightly different orders, and perhaps not the extreme that the original decree required,” Arceneaux told The Center Square. “Perhaps at the beginning, we bit off more than we could chew without an escape valve.”
Ratepayers have felt the effects, particularly low- and fixed-income residents. Between 2013 and 2022, sewer utility rates increased by 177%, according to project documents.
A low-income individual typically spends a larger portion of income on water and sewer costs – considered necessities – so when rates are raised, the impact is relatively greater.
“What we’ve been arguing is that our population cannot sustain the kinds of rate increases that would be required under a quicker resolution of the physical issues,” Arceneaux said. “That is a big part of our argument for additional time.”
Further straining resources, federal agencies demanded $17.7 million in penalties beginning in 2022. The city is negotiating settlements or forgiveness to lessen the penalties.
“We’re resisting that strenuously,” Arceneaux said. “We ought to take that (money) and devote it to solving the problem, instead of putting it into the vast pit that is the federal budget.”
“We’re continuing to spend money to comply with this consent decree … and penalizing us on top of that puts the burden on our ratepayers. To pay that, we have to increase sewer rates and we believe that is unfair,” he said. “Rate increases would likely be driving people away from Shreveport.”
The city is attempting to leverage federal loans, state grants and local bond options to secure more funding sources.
