After Baltimore public works officials proposed this fall to delay a court-enforced deadline to fix its sewage system by 16 years, advocates are urging city, state and federal agencies to adhere to the existing schedule.

Baltimore’s Department of Public Works said in an August report that resolving its longstanding problem with sewage overflows could take another $674 million and last until 2046. The city’s aging wastewater system first came under state and federal oversight in 2002 and, prior to this report, the city had not acknowledged that it expected to miss its current 2030 deadline.

While Baltimore officials argue that meeting the 2030 deadline puts too much financial burden on its ratepayers, the delay won’t make fixing the problem any cheaper, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Blue Water Baltimore argued in comments on the city plan this week.

“We are calling on all parties involved to create a plan that doesn’t just push problems down the road,” said Alice Volpitta, the Baltimore harbor waterkeeper for Blue Water Baltimore, in a statement Thursday. “Our residents deserve a plan that protects their right to clean water, not delays that drag on indefinitely.”

The city’s proposed extension requires approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Maryland Department of the Environment.

Since Baltimore first came under regulatory oversight more than 20 years ago, sewage overflows have improved substantially. The city projects that by 2030 it will have spent $2 billion on its sewage system and reduced overflows by 94%.

But millions of gallons of sewage still escape the system each year, and the two environmental groups argue that the remaining repairs are some of the most consequential.

Just last month, an overflow on a dry day sent 1.7 million gallons of sewage into the Jones Falls, a tributary that cuts through the heart of Baltimore and empties into the harbor. A spokesperson said last week that the city believes this overflow began after a broken manhole allowed debris to build up and block a pipe nearby.

The report released in August, which outlines plans to eliminate remaining overflows, is the city’s third such proposal. Two earlier versions were rejected by regulators, most recently in 2023.

A spokesperson for the Department of Public Works did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

The agency argued that regulators should weigh the costs to ratepayers against the 2030 deadline, while also raising concern that its projections overstate the amount of work still required, potentially saddling the city with unnecessary costs.

A public comment period on the city’s proposal closed Monday, and MDE spokesman Jay Apperson said the city must submit its finalized plan by Dec. 15. State and EPA regulators will then review the proposal.

The agencies have no expected timeline for that review, Apperson said.

The city has yet to explore a variety of federal funding sources that could help pay for this work, the Bay Foundation and Blue Water Baltimore said in their joint statement.

Meanwhile, Bay Foundation scientist Gussie Maguire argued that the recent Jones Falls overflow is proof that the city’s sewage system breaks down “even under ideal conditions.”

Prolonging repairs to 2046 is “simply unacceptable,” she said.

“The further Baltimore City kicks the can on sewage repairs, the more polluted overflows that communities will endure and the more expensive future repairs will be.”