Rhode Island city ordered to install municipal sewer lines

July 30 -- A city in Rhode Island is being ordered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to install a municipal sewer line and to replace failing private sewers in one of its neighborhoods.

The EPA said the Town of North Providence must pay a $15,000 fine and complete an $86,000 project to improve sewer service to residents in the Warren Street neighborhood.

EPA said the project will help eliminate sewer system backups in the area, which has had problems with discharges of raw sewage into residential homes and into the street.

The project will be part of a state-wide effort to eliminate such backups in Rhode Island, EPA said. So far, 12 communities and a waste water utility are under orders to improve their systems.

Contact Waste & Recycling News reporter Amanda Smith-Teutsch at 330-865-6166 or asmith-teutsch@crain.com