YOUNGSTOWN - The U.S. Department of Justice and the City of Youngstown have put forward new plans for how the city should clean up its sewer system, a move that could speed up environmental improvements in the city. The proposed changes are part of an update to an old agreement between Youngstown and environmental agencies, aimed at stopping pollution from overflowing sewers.

The DOJ's Environmental Enforcement Section on Friday submitted the new plan asking for its approval from a federal court.

Background

In 2002, Youngstown agreed with the U.S. and Ohio environmental agencies to a consent decree, a court-ordered plan to update the city's wastewater system to stop combined overflows that occur when too much rain overwhelms older systems that carry both sewage and storm runoff, causi

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