‘Deplorable’ condition of Columbus construction site prompts Riverkeeper lawsuit
Environmental watchdog group Chattahoochee Riverkeeper has sued Phenix City general contractor and developer Steve Corbett Construction (SCorUSA) for violating the Clean Water Act while constructing its multifamily unit, Aspire at Old Guard, off Veterans Parkway in north Columbus.
The lawsuit was filed May 22 in the U.S. District Court in Columbus. This comes after a 60-day notice of intent to sue was filed March 18.
SCorUSA is being charged $68,445 per day per violation for years of noncompliance with the Clean Water Act at its construction site on 2010 Old Guard Road. The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (CRK) obtained documents from the Columbus Inspection and Code enforcement through a Georgia Open Records Request. The documents show multiple days where the construction site was in “deplorable” condition, according to Jason Ulseth, executive director of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.
“I’ve inspected several thousand construction sites in my career; this ranks in the top 5 worst I’ve ever seen,” Ulseth told the Ledger-Enquirer.
Construction sites can pour sediment, dirt, rock and pollutants from disturbing the land during construction. That’s why there are BMPs (best management practices) to avoid polluting rivers and creeks during construction, which can harm water quality, wildlife and riparian ecosystems.
But, according to Ulseth, SCorUSA didn’t implement BMPs, resulting in the destruction of habitat within a tributary to Heiferhorn Creek and Standing Boy Creek.
For example, the company should have put in intake ponds that would prevent erosion into the creek, Ulseth said.
“They were supposed to put in seven ponds, according to their plans,” he said. “They cleared the entire site and never installed the basins. I’ve been on thousands of construction sites and this is the most aggressive ‘we are just not going to do anything’.”
Ulseth said the creeks have been completely filled in with runoff from the construction site.
“The creek between (North Columbus Elementary) school and the Aspire at Old Guard site is about 6 inches deep; it should be 3 to 4 feet,” he said. “It looks like mud was dumped there. Now, if you have a heavy rain event, the creek has no capacity to hold any of the water,” which can cause local flooding.
What is the Columbus Consolidated Government doing about this?
In addition to not using best management practices, such as the ponds on the 25-acre Aspire at Old Guard site, the CRK lawsuit says SCorUSA should have completed other BMP’s, like constructing silt fences, outlet protections, stabilize and cover disturbed areas and properly drain stormwater.
CRK also accuses SCorUSA of not obtaining a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, which is illegal under the Clean Water Act.
Ulseth said a CRK staff member drove by the construction site and noticed waterway problems in July 2024. Complaints were filed with the Columbus Consolidated Government and SCorUSA with specific dates throughout November 2024, May 2025 and September 2025, according to the lawsuit. CRK also filed complaints in February 2026 and March 2026.
The Columbus Inspection and Codes Department has been aware of the problem, according to Ulseth. The only reason CRK had to step in, he said, is because the city didn’t act.
“We’re filing complaints on construction sites (throughout Georgia) on daily basis, and the vast majority get resolved by local government responding to complaint,” he said. “Very, very rarely does local government not respond.”
Ulseth said the Columbus enforcement inspector showed major violations in their reports, per the records CRK obtained, with pictures as evidence, but never made SCorUSA, correct them.
The Ledger-Enquirer made multiple attempts to reach Dan Nibblett, the registered agent for SCorUSA LLC, Columbus Director of Engineering Vance Beck and the Columbus Director of Inspections and Code Ryan Pruett to comment about these accusations, but they didn’t reply before publication.
The lawsuit is CRK’s last resort, Ulseth said.
“We as a nonprofit step in where gov agencies fail to act,” he said. “The city failed to act. It had over a year and a half to do so. They didn’t report the site, didn’t respond to our complaints, so we knew the city wouldn’t take appropriate action.”
The city did issue a Stop Work Order for the site on or around Feb. 27 and in late April, during the notice period. But the Stop Work Order did not prevent ongoing discharges, according to the lawsuit.
Ulseth and his team tried to meet with SCorUSA at the construction site during the middle of March, around when the 60-day notice of intent to sue was filed, but he said no representatives from SCorUSA ever showed up.
“The city and developer wouldn’t work with us,” he said, “so we were forced to file intent to sue.”
Ulseth also said the last 60 days were meant for SCorUSA to come and find a solution and the lawsuit would have been dropped.
“The 60-day intent is to respond to us, come to the table and fix the damage that was done,” he said. “We hope they pick up the phone and say, ‘We’re sorry. Let’s make a plan.’ We have not heard a thing.”
