FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ENR
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U.S., GEORGIA, AND ATLANTA REACH SETTLEMENT
TO FIX CITY'S AGING SEWER SYSTEMThe United States and the State of Georgia today reached a settlement with the City of Atlanta to resolve water pollution violations throughout the city's sanitary sewer system. The agreement filed today in U.S. District Court in Atlanta requires the city to pay a civil penalty of $700,000 and take corrective action to bring its sewer system into compliance with the Clean Water Act and the Georgia Water Quality Control Act.
For years, the city's sewer system has had inadequate collection capacity, which results in the periodic discharge of sewage into some areas of the city. These problems have intensified as Atlanta's population has grown.
"This agreement is an important step toward cleaner, healthier water for the people of Atlanta," said Lois Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "It means that Atlanta will have a sewer system that works. That's good news for the people of this region, and for our environment."
The agreement lays out steps that Atlanta must follow to stop discharges of untreated or partially treated sewage into waterways and onto land. Bacteria and nutrients from fecal contamination impair waterways and can cause serious health problems, and these contaminants are typically found in very high concentrations in sewer overflow.
"EPA has worked closely with the State of Georgia to establish this comprehensive and specific agreement to ensure the city's compliance with federal and state laws," said John H. Hankinson, Jr., EPA Regional Administrator in Atlanta. "This action will ensure the integrity of the city's sewer system and local waterways and ensure that the health and environment of Atlanta's residents are fully protected."
The settlement announced today is the second of a two-part settlement with the City of Atlanta. In September 1998, the city agreed to resolve federal and state water violations at its combined sewer overflow facilities. Under the first settlement, the city must implement a $27.5 million supplement environmental project that calls for the creation of a greenway corridor and a one-time stream cleanup along selected waterways. Also under the first settlement, the city will pay a $2.5 million penalty -- the largest Clean Water Act penalty ever assessed against a municipality - bringing the total combined penalty to $3.2 million.
Today's agreement prohibits the city from installing new sewer lines in neighborhoods where the systems lack capacity to handle new flow, unless the city either increases system capacity or reduces flow from other sources. It also requires the city to implement detailed programs for pipes that carry sewage to treatment plants. Finally, the settlement requires the city to install flow-monitoring devices throughout its sewer system in order to determine the amount of flow handled by the system.
"This joint effort provides the road map to positively deal with historical problems associated with the operation of the city's sewer system and sewage treatment plants," said Harold Reheis, Director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. "This agreement is consistent with and supports the state's policy of 'Zero Tolerance' for violations of the state's clean water laws in the sensitive and high growth areas along the Chattahoochee River."
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