Friday, March 23, 2001
Friday, March 23, 2001 |
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Council declines independent study of Line Creek water quality
By JOHN
MUNFORD Faced with opposition from the Water and Sewerage Authority, the Peachtree City Council has declined a request to fund an independent review of tests on Line Creek to determine the quality of its water. Since its overture was rebuffed, the Line Creek Association might seek help from federal regulatory agencies to make sure Line Creek isn't suffering from problems. "If we as citizens don't question those issues, then who does?" environmentalist and Line Creek Association representative Dennis Chase said at last week's council meeting. "Intentionally avoiding these issues, as suggested in Mr. [WASA board chairman John] Gronner's letter, does not serve the needs of Fayette County citizens." Fayette's citizens and governments have challenged governmental directives from other state agencies, Chase said, including the Atlanta Regional Commission. Gronner, in a letter to council, said an independent review would "challenge" the state Environmental Protection Division, which regulates WASA. But Chase said it would be risky not to make absolutely sure that Line Creek's water is OK. City Attorney Rick Lindsey told council it shouldn't get involved in WASA matters. LCA had requested the city pay for an independent expert likely a university professor from out of state to examine documents compiled in the recent watershed assessment and other studies on Line Creek from the past several years. Chase said the group wants to make sure the water quality isn't rapidly declining, especially since WASA plans to discharge another 600,000 gallons into the creek once it expands its sewage treatment capacity. Chase argued that the state Environmental Protection Division does not "provide the level of protection we know is necessary for our watershed and the level of protection Peachtree City provides in other environmental considerations. ... It is the Line Creek Association's position and belief that we have the right to expect every protection available." WASA General Manager Larry Turner said the time to oppose that planned expansion is during the public hearings that will be held for the permit application. "That is the time for the public to voice their concerns, not a council meeting," Turner said. Mayor Bob Lenox said he agreed it wasn't appropriate for the city to fund the study. He added that a study of how contaminants get into the city's water system is he subject of a grant that might be approved by the Environmental Protection Administration. "To me it is our best hope of finding the scope of the problem," Lenox said. But Chase said that study likely won't have results before the sewer system expands. Turner said tests will be conducted at sampling points on Line Creek once every three months for the next three years, "to determine what is happening to Line Creek and Flat Creek." The EPD has plenty of rules and regulations and makes sure WASA sticks to them Turner said. "When they tell me to jump, I jump," Turner said. In his legal opinion issued to council, City Attorney Rick Lindsey said council shouldn't intervene on matters that are specifically handled by WASA. "The Water and Sewer Authority is a separate legal entity charged with operating the sewer system, and consequently, complying with all applicable laws," Lindsey wrote. "The city may have the legal right to request an independent analysis of the watershed assessment, but in so doing, the city may erode the working relationship between the authority and itself." Lindsey also said in the letter that the city has no scientific basis or data to use in challenging the EPD's regulations and guidelines. The sewer system expansion, tabbed at over $8 million, includes a new plant. That will also allow the city to shut down its Flat Creek plant, which was originally designed to serve as a temporary facility. For those reasons, a new sewer plant will be built no matter what because it is desperately needed, Lenox added.
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