Fight over poop bacteria in Chattahoochee River goes to GA appeals court
Columbus Water Works is continuing its legal battle with state regulators and environmental advocates over an acceptable level of fecal bacteria discharged into the Chattahoochee River from sewers. A state appellate court could determine if the water utility company and its customers will spend millions to comply with stricter regulations.
The Georgia Court of Appeals has agreed to hear the case, and Columbus Water Works filed its notice of appeal in late June. The move comes after two judges ruled against the utility, upholding a sewer operation permit that enforces a stricter limit on fecal coliform bacteria.
Columbus Water Works has argued that the limit is too restrictive under federal water guidelines, and the change is not necessary to protect the river’s water quality based on more than two decades of data.
However, state officials and river advocates say the permit is meant to address future risks to the waterway. Columbus’ combined sewer system handles both rain and wastewater that run beneath the city’s river walk. Heavy rains, they argue, could send untreated sewage into the city’s popular whitewater course.
“We are gratified that the Georgia Court of Appeals has agreed to review this case,” said Vic Burchfield, the senior vice president of Columbus Water Works. “As responsible stewards of ratepayer funds and with our community facing many other critical infrastructure needs, we must advocate for our customers by appealing these unnecessary and costly changes.”
Background
The legal saga started in 2015 when the utility’s sewer permit expired but was administratively extended by state officials. In 2020, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) issued a new permit for the combined sewer system that included an end-of-pipe limit for fecal coliform bacteria.
Columbus Water Works and Georgia EPD ended up in court over the matter with the nonprofit Chattahoochee Riverkeeper later joining the EPD.
In court documents, Columbus Water Works has argued that the stricter limit is unnecessary and would cost more than $10 million to enforce. The utility argues that the new limit is a big change.
The combined sewer system handles waste and stormwater from a small portion of downtown. Discharges from the sewer to the river occur only during heavy storm events, and they are treated or contain 99.5% stormwater, not wastewater, according to the utility.
The current system was designed to meet fecal bacteria standards by testing water out of the river after its diluted, not water coming directly out of the pipe.
The city overhauled its combined sewer system in the 1990s at the urging of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Georgia EPD approved and directed these changes. The state agency also approved permits in 1998 and 2010 without end-of-pipe limits.
The utility has argued that EPD made assumptions about the disputed sewer system. Columbus Water Works cites outside expert witnesses who say the system poses no future harm and that the EPD ran no analysis.
In response, the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and Georgia EPD have argued the limit is necessary because EPD conducted a reasonable potential analysis as required by the federal Clean Water Act and determined the system posed a future risk to the river’s water quality.
The state agency further argued that the new permit corrects past mistakes, as previous permits didn’t properly assess the sewer system’s potential to cause harm.
“I’m not surprised that Columbus appealed it because they’ve made it clear they are going to fight this,” said Hutton Brown, an attorney representing the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.
Court hearing dates are yet to be set.
This story was originally published July 7, 2022 at 6:20 AM.