See Wastewater - Stormwater Pollution Control - Stream Buffer Protection - Instream Flow Protection
Wastewater
Chronic Sewage Spills by City of Atlanta:
From the late 1970s through the 1990s, officials in the City of Atlanta failed to invest in regular maintenance of the city’s sewer system, which led to thousands of overflows and spills of untreated sewage each year during wet and dry weather. This pollution resulted in elevated bacteria levels in neighborhood streams and ultimately the Chattahoochee and South Rivers, threatening public health and lowering downstream property values.
In 1995, UCR filed a lawsuit in federal court against the City of Atlanta for failing to control the discharge of raw sewage and other pollutants into these waterways from combined sewer overflows (CSOs). UCR won the case in 1997 and settled it in 1998. Subsequently, the US EPA and Georgia EPD pursued an enforcement action, which was made a part of our original lawsuit and was based on their five-month investigation of the city’s entire sewage system. The result was an enforceable plan to overhaul the city’s entire sewage system pursuant to a consent decree overseen by Federal Judge Thomas Thrash with all work to be completed by 2014 at an anticipated cost of more than $2.5 billion. Mayor Shirley Franklin has overseen the implementation of the Atlanta Clean Water Program, which also includes massive upgrades to the city’s drinking water system, since she took office in 2002. Two supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) were negotiated as part of the settlement—a massive cleanup of all trash in 37 miles of streams, completed in 1999, and a Greenway Acquisition Program funded with $25 million, which was completed in 2007 with the purchase of close to 2,000 acres of green space along tributaries and the river (see Greenway Project Overview). The city also had to pay a fine of $2.5 million.
See more information about combined sewer overflows and sanitary sewer overflows.
Gwinnett County Discharge into Lake Lanier:
On November 23, 2004, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled in favor of UCR and others with a landmark interpretation of Georgia’s anti-degradation provisions, stating that sewage treatment plants are “not allowed to discharge water that is more polluted than it reasonably needs to be…”
This decision settled key questions in a lawsuit filed in 2001 by UCR, Lake Lanier Association, Sierra Club and Terry Hughey against the state EPD and Gwinnett County over a permit allowing the county to discharge 40 million gallons per day of treated sewage into Lake Lanier—a high quality water that provides drinking water for metro Atlanta and is visited by more than 8 million people per year.
Georgia water laws implementing the federal CWA require a two-pronged anti-degradation review prior to allowing the discharge of pollutants into high quality waters, like Lake Lanier. That review must prove that discharges that degrade waters are necessary to provide social or economic development and that treatment plants are using the best practicable technology to remove pollutants prior to using a permit. In the 6 to 1 decision, the court found that the plant can remove more pollutants than the permit required and thus violates the anti-degradation rules. Ultimately, the permit was issued by EPD with stronger permit limits for several pollutants. Lake Lanier Association’s attorney Steve O’Day with Smith, Gambrell & Russell argued the case before the Supreme Court, assisted by Andy Thompson. UCR and Sierra Club were represented by Justine Thompson with GreenLaw.
Stormwater Pollution Control
Prison Expansion by GA Department of Corrections:
Following many months trying to resolve serious erosion control violations and filling of wetlands at the expansion of Larmore Probation Center in south Fulton County, UCR filed a federal Clean Water Act lawsuit against the Georgia Department of Corrections in early 2005. The Valley Lakes neighborhood, which has several lakes, fishing ponds and wetlands areas, was affected by sediment runoff from the 19-acre construction site. In October 2005, we reached a settlement with the GDOC, which required the removal of at least 70 truckloads of sediment from the impacted wetlands, planting of 225 large trees, thousands of native seedlings and 150 trees and shrubs in the wetlands, and a commitment from GDOC to pursue a conservation easement to protect about 8 acres of the site from future development. All components of this agreement, except the conservation easement, have been satisfied and the easement is expected to be finalized soon. See AJC article about this case.
Winmark Homes Development in Forsyth County:
In 2006, UCR investigated a construction site in Forsyth County after receiving a call from a concerned citizen. We found multiple violations of stormwater laws at a Winmark Homes development known as Champions Run, including the draining and filling of 1,800 linear feet of an intermittent stream. Frustrated with the lack of enforcement by government agencies, UCR filed a notice of intent to sue Winmark under federal law in June 2007 with pro bono assistance from Andrews, Knowles and Princenthal. No action was taken by the developer to fix the problems, so UCR moved to file a lawsuit in federal court. On the eve of filing, we learned that Winmark was in negotiations with the Corps of Engineers; they subsequently signed a settlement agreement that requires the complete restoration of the stream which was completed in January 2008. The developer was also required to pay a fine of $48,000 to the Georgia EPD.
Stream Buffer Protection
Connally Nature Park in East Point:
In 1999, UCR filed an administrative action against the Georgia EPD for its issuance of a buffer variance allowing the Fulton County School Board to pipe a stream on property in the city of East Point, where the Board planned to construct an elementary school. This small tributary to Utoy Creek bisects a forest with 200-year old oak trees, known locally as Connally Nature Park. It became clear during hearings before the Administrative Law Judge that EPD had not followed the law in the issuance of the variance. In lengthy settlement talks with the Board, we were able to secure some concessions regarding the footprint of the building and tree protection. At the same time, local activists and land preservation groups led by The Conservation Fund were able to raise funds to secure an alternative site for the school and ultimately protect the forest and the stream as permanent green space under a conservation easement held by America’s Watershed Landkeeper, a supporting organization of UCR.
Timberland Subdivision in Harris County:
We learned about the illegal damming of a stream in a Harris County development project called Timberland subdivision in late 2007. The developer, Daniel Hodge, destroyed at least 1,670 linear feet of buffer and streams to build a dam and 9-acre amenity lake for a subdivision without any of the necessary local, state or federal permits. In March 2008, we sent a 60-day notice of intent to sue the developer to force him to remove the dam and restore all impacted streams. The case was settled in December 2008 when the developer agreed to remove the dam, restore streams and fund several local environmental projects. UCR will monitor this project until the site is completely restored.
Instream Flow Protection
Georgia Power’s Plant Wansley:
In 2002, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ruled in UCR’s favor on our 2000 challenge to a water withdrawal permit issued to Georgia Power Company (GPC) for its coal-fired plant in Heard County on the Chattahoochee. The ALJ found that GPC did not need to withdraw 116 million gallons per day of water from the river, a doubling of their original withdrawal permit. GPC and the state EPD quickly filed briefs asking the ALJ to reconsider his ruling. In a surprising move, with little explanation, the ALJ reversed his earlier decision and upheld the permit. UCR appealed the ALJ’s ruling to Fulton Superior Court, but the court affirmed the ALJ’s decision. Although we were disappointed with these final rulings, we achieved several results. Our action established that aggrieved citizens are water users protected by state law and have the legal right (standing) to appeal water withdrawal permits. GPC was required to augment its original permit application, which had not met state requirements. Finally, EPD made significant improvements to its permit review and evaluation process.
Tri-State Water Wars:
In 2003, a water-sharing agreement was reached between the Corps of Engineers, the state of Georgia and the Southeastern Power Customers that would have allowed Georgia to increase its use of Lake Lanier for water supply from about 13 percent of the lake’s capacity to 22 percent over the coming decades. In early 2004, a federal court validated this agreement which had been appealed by Florida and Alabama. Represented by counsel from the Southern Environmental Law Center and Turner Environmental Law Clinic, UCR, along with other rivers groups, were granted leave to file an amicus (friends of the court) brief in late 2004. Our brief focused primarily on environmental issues and responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We argued that the Corps had failed to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement and that no study had been conducted to consider potentially harmful downstream impacts to the Chattahoochee River, aquatic life and downstream users that could stem from the settlement agreement.
In February 2008, a federal appeals court ruled that the 2003 agreement constituted a “major operational change” to Lake Lanier, authorized more than fifty years ago for hydropower, flood control and navigation, and that Congressional approval was necessary for such a major change. Georgia appealed this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied cert in January 2009, leaving the 2008 ruling in place. |
