YOUNGSTOWN A federal court has formally approved changes to the City of Youngstown’s long-standing wastewater cleanup plan, updating the infrastructure requirements and implementation timeline for projects designed to reduce pollution in local waterways.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Boyko signed the final order Thursday, approving the amendment to a consent decree originally signed by the court in 2002. The amendment was sought by the city, and mutually agreed upon by the United States, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the State of Ohio.

The core of the revised plan centers on a $43 million plan to improve the city’s Combined Sewer Overflow system, a necessity for many older industrial cities where stormwater and sanitary sewage are collected in the same pipes.

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