What is the Global Consent Decree?
Because resolving sewer overflows is a long-term project and can be very expensive, the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSD) began negotiating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of Ohio in 1997 to develop an overflow reduction plan that would be supported by the government but also affordable for local ratepayers. This process resulted in a Global Consent Decree, which is an agreement among all parties about what will be accomplished and when, and is enforced and monitored by a federal judge.
