EPD considers tougher standards for Savannah River

State officials say there's not enough dissolved oxygen in the Savannah River.

So Georgia's Environmental Protection Division is considering standards that may limit the amount of pollutants discharged along the river.

The EPD says the depletion of the dissolved oxygen could harm fish, such as the striped bass and the endangered sturgeon, in the Savannah River.

They've held public hearings in Augusta and Savannah, and will hold one in Atlanta on Monday.

Scientists say the dissolved oxygen breaks down the pollutants, like biochemicals, ammonia or other substances, found in industrial and municipal wastewater discharges.

But officials from the state's Environmental Protection Division say those discharges are too high, and are depleting the oxygen.

The EPD's proposed standards could lead to tougher restrictions on the discharges.

That could be expensive for the 64 cities and companies that own the wastewater treatment plants along the Savannah River.

"Our community has a lot of low income folks in it," says Allen Saxon, the assistant director for wastewater treatment for the Augusta utilities department. "Our community has a lot of low income folks in it. It could raise the rates to our users if we have to do this right away."

Saxon attended the public hearing in Augusta on Thursday.

The EPD's proposed standard sets an expectation for how much of the dissolved oxygen should be in the water. Any limitations expected of companies and municipalites would follow. The EPD could consider variances or schedules for them to comply.

As the public reviews the EPD standards, there is disagreement among the EPD and wastewater treatment plant owners on whether the the discharges upstream, such as in Augusta, have caused the lack of oxygen in the Savannah Harbor.

The EPD expects the standards to be finalized by December.

EPD opens Columbus office

EPD districts and offices.
The State Environmental Protection Division has opened a new field office in Columbus.

Officials told reporters that the new office is located at the Cunningham Center on the Columbus State University campus. The bureau will aid them in in serving area residents and monitoring environmental issues in the West Central District area. The district's central office is in Macon.

On June 28th, 2007, the EPD submitted a "Draft Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan" to the Water Council. Details of the plan are viewable here. More information about the EPD's activities is available at their website.

More GPB News coverage of the EPD is here, and on the water crisis, here.

EPD: Actually, About That PFOA Testing...

For ten months, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division publicly said it was testing Northwest Georgia drinking water for a likely carcinogenic chemical. But now, the EPD says it never tested for PFOA in drinking water intakes.

The revelation comes after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set a drinking water advisory for PFOA.

The chemical is found in high amounts in the Conasauga River, a source of drinking water for Northwest Georgia, including Rome. After a series of critical media stories were aired and published, the EPD announced it would test drinking water intakes for the compound. And for the past ten months, officials confirmed testing would take place.

Now, the project manager, Jeremy Smith, tells GPB there has been “a mix-up,” and that another EPD official misspoke. No further explanation was given. The EPD has no plans to test the drinking water.

The agency is still testing fish pulled from the river for PFOA, and those results are expected by spring.

EPD Says Air Will Be Cleaner When New Coal Plant is Built but Environmental Groups Disagree

The state's top environmental regulator for air pollution says the air in eastern Georgia will be cleaner if and when a coal plant is built near Sandersville in Washington County.

Jac Capp, chief of the state environmental protection division's air protection branch, says the plant also won't add to ozone air pollution in Augusta or Macon. Macon is already near two other coal plants, one of them dubbed by environmental groups as the dirtiest in the U.S.

Coal plants are in the process of reducing pollutant emissions as required by federal and state regulations.

Capp says that the proposed new coal plant, Plant Washington, will also have lower emissions of pollutants.

But environmental groups disagree with Capp's comments. They say the goal of EPD should be to not pollute at all.

Ozone triggers respiratory illnesses. The EPD recently recommended, for the first time, that mid-sized cities in Georgia have failed ozone air pollution standards. Her recommendations are required by federal law and based on measures of the ozone. Newer and tougher restrictions this year have contributed to the cities falling into this category. The federal government will ultimately make the decision on whether the cities, which include Augusta, Macon and Columbus.

The state EPD is beginning the permitting process for Plant Washington. But Capp and his staff have already reviewed an extensive proposal for the plant.

Hear audio about Plant Washington:

Jac Capp, Georgia Environmental Protection Division

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Midge Sweet, Georgians for Smart Energy

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State Okays Pipeline Expansion

The state is giving the go-ahead for plans to expand a petroleum pipeline affecting 500 private properties in Georgia. The Environmental Protection Division issued a permit to Colonial Pipeline so they can build a new line from Alabama to Atlanta through Cobb, Paulding, Carroll and Haralson counties.

A 1995 law regulating petroleum pipelines requires companies report to the EPD on how the line’s construction will affect the environment.

EPD geologist Jim Kennedy says his agency is satisfied with Colonial Pipeline’s findings.

“There were, of course, stream crossings that we were interested in and there were some streams that had some listed species that we concerned about and there were some soil areas that could be highly eroded by water and they have described how they’re going to map these things, and how they’re going to deal with any issues that may arise."

Kennedy says most of the new line will run parallel to two existing pipelines and less than 10 percent will touch undisturbed land. The EPD approval paves the way for eminent domain allowing Colonial to negotiate with landowners to purchase 25 foot easements.

Colonial pipelines connect Georgia to refineries on the Gulf Coast and provide 70 percent of the state’s gas, diesel, and other petroleum products.

Georgia EPD considers toughened regulations on chemical discharges into Savannah River

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division is reviewing a proposal to limit chemical discharges into the Savannah River from industries and cities.

Dissolved oxygen breaks down chemical pollutants in the Savannah River.

The pollutants come from 64 industrial and municipal wastewater treatment sites and their levels are so high, they're using up the oxygen.

That, in turn, means more chemicals in the water. And that can kill fish.

The EPD is holding public hearings on their proposal in Augusta on Thursday, Savannah on Friday and Atlanta on Monday.

"These discharges are too high, so we're going to have to look at a way to re-parcel the pie," says Jeff Larson, of the EPD.

The depletion of dissolved oxygen is threatening striped bass and the endangered sturgeon in the Savannah Harbor.

Augusta salvage yard must pay EPD clean-up

A salvage yard that polluted a neighborhood in Augusta must pay for the cleanup costs.

A federal court ordered the Goldberg Brothers Salvage Yard to pay over 10 million dollars to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

Back in the 1990’s, the EPD found toxins including lead and arsenic in the nearby Hyde Park neighborhood. They began a ten-year cleanup that involved removing scrap metal, tires and contaminated soil from the area.

The Goldberg Brothers filed for bankruptcy after the EPD’s discovery.

Oconee River Bacteria Levels High

Scientists are urging officials from the State Environmental Protection Division to return to the Oconee River in Dublin and sample the water again.
A year ago scientists from the EPD took samples from the river. They came to Laurens County after sportsmen reported seeing bloody fish and deformed birds. They also noted the disappearance of the once plentiful mussel.
After extensive testing the EPD determined problems with the fish stemmed from drought, spawning, and bacteria. They said there was no danger to public health.
But, Kim Tyler with the Altamaha Riverkeeper has been collecting samples for the last several months and she disagrees. Her tests, analyzed at mercer university, show bacteria levels up to 40 times higher than similar sections of the Ocmulgee River in Middle Georgia.
(photos courtesy of Altamaha Riverkeeper)

"I'm really concerned for boaters and people that want to fish in the water. Especially young children that have low immune systems, anyone that has sores, splashing in the water and eyes, getting it in their eyes and their ears and their nose. That to me in my opinion is dangerous and should be avoided."



Tyler says they sent a letter to the EPD reporting their findings. They've asked them to come back and locate the source of the contamination. For now Tyler says she won't be fishing in that part of the Oconee River.

Fishing Advisory Possible On Parts of Conasauga

A spokesman for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division says a fishing advisory could be issued for the Conasauga River in Northwest Georgia. That's if a report showing high levels of a likely carcinogen is confirmed.

The EPD expects their testing of four sites on the Conasauga to be completed by the end of the month.

This is the first time the EPD has publicly raised the possibility of a fishing advisory since a University of Georgia study showed high levels of PFOA contamination in the river in January. PFOA, or C-8, as it’s also called, is a chemical produced during carpet finishing. It is also used for other applications, such as Teflon.

The US Environmental Protection Agency calls PFOA a “likely carcinogen.” It ends up in the river through a sewage spray field in Whitfield County. Jeremy Smith, a project manager for the EPD, says it would be premature to consider other regulatory measures until further studies are completed. And that research, which is expensive, would come only if necessary. However, Smith says a fishing advisory may be needed.

"If they're [PFOA LEVELS] around those concentrations that Minnesota listed as potentially harmful, if they are, that [fishing advisory] could happen.”

The UGA study showed levels in the Conasauga are two times higher than Minnesota's allowable standard in ground water. As GPB reported earlier this year, internal documents show US EPA sampling found PFOA levels higher than the UGA study.

You can view GPB's extensive reporting on PFOA contamination in the Conasauga by clicking here: http://www.gpb.org/georgiagazette/conasauga

Judge's ruling halts planned power station (Updated)

In a landmark ruling with national implications, The Fulton County Superior Court today reversed a previous administrative court decision on an Environmental Protection Division (EPD) permit allowing the construction of a coal-fired power plant in southwest Georgia.

"We are in a moment of elation," said Justine Thompson a lawyer for Greenlaw, who represent a coalition of local residents and environmental groups that are fighting the plant's construction.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore reversed a previous decision by Atlanta Administrative Law Judge Judge Stephanie Howells, giving the go-ahead for the project.

Wyatt said in her ruling regarding the plant's projected carbon dioxide emissions:

"Faced with the ruling in Massachusetts that CO2 is an “air pollutant” under the Act, Respondents are forced to argue that CO2 is still not a “pollutant subject to regulation under the Act.” Respondents’ position is untenable. Putting aside the argument that any substance that falls within the statutory definition of “air pollutant may be “subject to” regulation under the Act, there is no question that CO2 is “subject to regulation under the Act."

Howells, in an 108-page decision reached on January 11th, had ruled affirming the EPD decision to issue an air quality permit:

"...the weight of the evidence demonstrates that limits imposed by EPD are reasonable and supported by law.”

The Houston-based Dynegy Company wants to build the 1200-megawatt Longleaf power plant on the Chattahoochee River in Early County.

The opponents last year filed an appeal to stop the construction. The say the plant would emit unchecked levels of carbon dioxide, and unacceptable amounts of other pollutants.

Proponents say the 1.2-billion dollar project will provide hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue for the poor rural area.

The plant would be the first such facility to be built in Georgia in the last 20-years.

Environmentalists said the decision marks the first time that a judge has applied a U.S. Supreme Court finding that carbon dioxide is a pollutant to emissions from an industrial source.

The court's April 2007 decision said the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which are blamed for global warming.

"We will be taking this decision and making the same arguments to push for an end to conventional coal," said Bruce Nilles, who oversees the Sierra Club's National Coal Campaign.

The plant's developers, LS Power and Dynegy Inc., said they planned to appeal.

"We are surprised with Judge Moore's ruling against us in every respect," said Mike Vogt, a spokesman for the energy plant. He also downplayed the ruling's impact on other pending lawsuits.

"I don't know what type of legal precedent a superior court judge in one state has over judges in other states," he said.

At a June 3 hearing, lawyers representing state regulators and plant developers said there was no federal standard yet to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and warned that a ruling to regulate the gas would "short-circuit" legislators' work to develop new rules.

The plant is expected to create more than 100 full-time jobs and give millions of dollars in tax revenues to Early County, where almost a quarter of the 12,000 residents live in poverty. It would power more than a half-million homes through utilities in Georgia, Alabama and Florida.

Each year it would emit as much as 9 million tons of carbon dioxide, worrying critics who say it could cause health problems in a county that already suffers above-average air pollution.

The decision will force state regulators to reconsider coal-fired power plants and could push state regulators toward cleaner and more efficient energy, said Patti Durand, director of the Sierra Club's Georgia chapter.

"It's a scandal that energy companies are still trying to build coal plants even though they cause global warming," she said. "I can't be more thrilled. It's a huge ruling. This is a new day in the United States, and I'm thrilled."

Click here for more GPB News coverage about the Longleaf power station.

(With The Associated Press)

Drought disaster pending says EPD chief

The State of Georgia is still waiting for the Corp of Engineers to decide whether it will lower the flow of water out of Lake Lanier. Governor Perdue has threatened legal action if the corps does not comply with the state's request. Today Georgia environmental protection division director Carol Couch warned of dire consequences.

“Rejecting our request amounts to the United States Corps. Of Engineers abandoning the people of the state of Georgia,” Couch told reporters.

The EPD is starting to plan for a pending emergency, because Lake Lanier could run out of water in 81 days if there’s no substantial rain says Couch.

“We may have to assure that hospitals ship their patients elsewhere” she said ”This is a potential disaster in the making.”

The Corps Of Engineers says it may draw water from below the minimum level required for Lake Lanier, but that has never been done before and could be costly. Next week Couch will make recommendations to Governor Sonny Perdue on which businesses should get water use restrictions.

Waste-processing plant fighting closure order

The EPD and a Jackson County waste-processing company went head-to-head in court on Tuesday over whether their plant should be shut down.

The Environmental Protection Division ordered the waste-treatment plant in Talmo, north of Athens to stop taking in grease and poultry remains in late August, citing health ordinance violations going back to 2005.

The facility's owner appealed that decision. They charge that they should be allowed to remain open until a final ruling, expected in November.

On Tuesday, the EPD argued before a superior court judge that the Agri-Cycle facility should remain closed for the interim.

Local residents complain that contamination of nearby Allen Creek and smells from the three-year-old plant are making their lives unbearable.

The judge's decision is expected within a few weeks.

Click here for more GPB coverage of events surrounding the facility.

State EPD Says Four Mid-sized Cities May Face Ozone Pollution Status

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division has made its official recommendation on which cities in Georgia need to clean up their air. This year, in addition to metro Atlanta, four mid-sized cities were recommended to be non-attainment areas. That means they'll have to work harder to curb ground level ozone pollution.

The cities: Augusta, Athens, Macon and Columbus.

The EPD's recommendations are not final. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will ultimately have the final say.

In the meantime, the cities will study how to clean up their air. One big contributor to ozone pollution is automobile traffic. Cities will look at how to reduce those emissions.

Non-attainment would also put tighter controls on industry.

The cities are likely failing now because they're having to meet tougher federal air quality standards. The EPA will make its final decision on the cities' non-attainment status by March 2010. The state would then have three years to come up with a plan to deal with the ozone.

Ozone is a component of smog, which causes respiratory illnesses.

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Chemicals in the Conasauga

The Environmental Protection Division may be testing drinking water sources across the state for a chemical used to make stain resistant carpet; this comes after a study that found high levels of the man-made chemical in a north Georgia river.

For two years, University of Georgia scientists have been monitoring the Conasauga River for traces of a chemical called PFOA likely to cause cancer. They found it in very high amounts.

The river surrounds a wastewater treatment site where millions of gallons of water containing PFOA are sprayed. It is supposed to break down in the soil, but the study shows it doesn’t.

In response to the study, the EPD could begin testing this summer for the chemical in lakes across Georgia. Liz Booth monitors rivers and streams for the EPD. Booth said, "One of our engineers came down and talked to us about this article and concern with elevated PFOA’s in the Conesauga River, and we do have supplemental money that we can use to monitor sediment in lakes of drinking water intakes."

The testing does not include rivers in the Conasauga system, however. Scientists said the water flowing downstream of the river should be tested and not to eat fish coming out of those waters.

Officials say chemical plant in Augusta underreported emissions

An east Georgia chemical manufacturer has underreported emissions, according to state officials.

And, they say, the chemical company has acknowledged there is an inaccuracy.

The chemical is called cyclohexane. While it does not pose direct health risks, large amounts can contribute to smog.

The company is DSM Chemicals North America, a chemical manufacturer based in Augusta. Officials with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division say DSM underreported emissions of the chemical by ten times. They say this occurred over a three year period.

DSM uses cyclohexane to produce another chemical used to make nylon.

EPD officials say calculations used as an indicator to determine emissions of cyclohexane were incorrect.

They also say the company determined an emissions recovery system was inefficient.

DSM executives were unavailable for comment. They have, however, acknowledged to state environmental officials that the initial reports were inaccurate, says the EPD. State and federal environmental officials will now review what measures or fines may be levied against the company.

EPD Investigates Sewage Spill Into Chattahoochee

Columbus water officials could face stiff fines from a major sewage spill into the Chattahoochee River over the weekend.

Weekend rainfall flushed more than 1.5 million gallons of sewage into the Chattahoochee and nearby Lake Oliver in western Georgia.

Steve Davis with Columbus Water Works says more than five inches of rain overwhelmed the city's sewer system at two points. But, he says the spill likely is not a public health risk:

"We'd be very surprised. We don't suspect that even through our water quality sampling that we'll see much impact. From a public perspective, I wouldn't be concerned."

Davis says sewage that overflowed into the river was already well-diluted, and diluted further by strong river flow.

Columbus Water has already filed a report to the Enviromental Protection Division, with a meeting between officials soon to come. The EPD says Columbus Water Works could face fines, based on completion of a full review.

Drought relief legislation now law

Governor Sonny Perdue signed the Water Conservation and Drought Relief Act of 2008, SB 342. The legislation will expedite the construction of new reservoirs throughout the state.

The Water Conservation and Drought Relief Act of 2008 brings state agencies together to ease reservoir construction and expansion. The Environmental Protection Division (EPD) will assist local governments' efforts to expedite aspects of permitting for new reservoir applications. This legislation creates a Water Supply Division (WSD) and establishes the Georgia Reservoir Fund (GRF) within GEFA.

The WSD will assist local governments with the reservoir and water supply permitting process in coordination with EPD. The WSD may also plan, design, acquire, construct, operate, manage and maintain new reservoirs on behalf of local governments. The GRF will be used for allocating the reservoir and water system infrastructure funds recommended by the Governor and approved by the General Assembly.

Initial funding for the Georgia Reservoir Fund was included in the Amended FY 2008 and FY 2009 budgets. In the Amended FY 2008 budget, Governor Perdue recommended, and the General Assembly appropriated, $40 million in grants for local governments to develop reservoirs. In the FY 2009 budget, the Governor recommended, and the General Assembly approved, $30 million in loans for local governments.

The legislation also seeks to minimize government expansion by requiring the WSD to use existing staff and the private sector to fulfill its mission. One final provision of this legislation emphasizes the importance of water-efficient products by extending the same sales tax break to qualified water-saving items during the upcoming sales tax holiday.

EPA Emails Show PFOA Levels Five Times Higher than Previously Reported, Researchers Also Skeptical of Carpet Industry Claims

According to emails obtained by GPB through a Freedom of Information Act request, EPA researchers found PFOA levels in “water from Dalton” at levels of five parts per billion (ppb). The emails do not specify where the sample was gathered.

A previous study showed PFOA to be present in the Conasauga river that runs through Whitfield County at about 1 ppb.

The EPA classifies PFOA as a “likely carcinogen.” Studies have linked the chemical to cancer in lab animals, fish, and prostate cancer in humans.

Both levels found in the Conasauga are higher than what some other states with PFOA contamination allow.

The Conasauga eventually joins another river to form the Oostanaula, which is a source of drinking water for the cities of Calhoun and Rome.

PFOA comes from the manufacturing of carpet. Carpet executives have told GPB the compound is a manufacturing byproduct.

Yet, in the emails obtained by GPB, a PFOA expert at the EPA, is skeptical. In 2006, John Washington, who is based in Athens, wrote “While the industry has claimed that PFOA is an unintended impurity, I now suspect that it has been intended---or at least very onvenient---because it helps to stabilize the …particles.”

Meanwhile, sources working on a PFOA water monitoring project with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division say their work “is being held up.” Georgia EPD announced the plan to test for PFOA in drinking water sources earlier this year. However, these sources told GPB the sampling is being bogged down because there are questions of whether EPD has the testing standards in place to acquire accurate results.

The sampling is considered a first step in establishing the severity of PFOA contamination in the Conasauga.

Closing arguments in coal plant permit case

The state heard closing arguments today, on whether to allow a Houston, Texas company to build a coal-fired power plant in southwest Georgia. Environmentalists say if the plant is built, annual pollution levels will equal the exhaust from one and a half million new cars each year. The testimony before the Office of State Administrative Hearings capped a nearly month long trial. At issue is whether to allow Dynegy of Houston to build a 1,200 megawatt coal fired power plant in Early County.

Justine Thompson is Executive Director of Greenlaw, one of the groups protesting construction of the coal-powered facility. She accuses the state Environmental Protection Division of ignoring the concerns of Georgians throughout the permit and hearing process.

“The EPD, while it’s middle name is “protection,” it considers its client to be the industry that’s requesting a permit, instead of the general public. They basically just adopted the coal company’s position and didn’t adequately review the permit.”

Dynegy presently operates thirty two energy facilities around the country, including the Heard County Power Plant in Franklin, Georgia. Neither attorneys for the EPD nor Dynegy were available for comment.

Judge Approves Coal-Fired Power Plant

Click on the image to read a larger version of the conclusion page of Howells' decision. The full ruling is here. (.pdf download).

Atlanta Administrative Law Judge Stephanie Howells, in an 108-page decision, has ruled affirming the Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s (EPD) decision to issue an air quality permit to Longleaf Energy Station, in a statement released Friday morning.

Howells noted in her conclusion:

"...the weight of the evidence demonstrates that limits imposed by EPD are reasonable and supported by law.”

The 1200 - megawatt facility, to be built on the banks of the Chattahoochee River in Early Co., would be the first coal-fired plant to be built in Georgia in the last 20-years.

GreenLaw, who is representing Friends of the Chattahoochee and the Sierra Club, filed suit in June of 2007 challenging the permit for the 1200 megawatt power plant. The lawsuit charged that the builders, Houston-based Dynegy Corporation, failed to include limitations for carbon dioxide and sulphur emissions. Justine Thompson, GreenLaw's Executive Director:

“We are very disappointed by the court’s ruling and we will certainly file an appeal.”

“This is the first coal-fired power permit to be approved in Georgia in over 20 years but with this court’s ruling, I fear it will not be the last. As neighboring states stand up against coal plants, Georgia’s acquiescence will make us a target for new coal-fired power plant proposals. Building this plant as currently designed will lock this state into dirty air for the life of the plant, at least 50 or more years.”

Greenlaw attorneys say they will appeal to the state Superior Court by February.

Speaking in a conference call set up by opponents in the wake of the decision, Bobby Mclendon, president of Friends of the Chattahoochee expressed his disappointment:

"I've got a medical doctor on our board of directors down hear, and he told me – I said, Sammy, what is the worst pollutant that will be emitted by this plant? – this was five years ago – and he said, 'particulate matter, Bobby' he said, 'it'll increase asthmatic attacks and asthma and things,' and he said, 'we just don't need any of it,' so knowing all this about the fallout from it, I was just extremely disappointed in the decision."

But in a separate interview, Billy Fleming, publisher of the Early County News and a long-time proponent of the plant, said he was unsurprised by Howells decision:

"Of course, we're excited as a community about the decision, and it's actually the decision we were anticipating all along. Dave, I've spent five years studying every aspect of coal-fired power-plants, global warming, particulate matter, mercury and everything, and any of us who have paid attention are very comfortable with the permits of this power plant."

Click here for more GPB News coverage and features on the issues at stake at the Longleaf Power Station.