ATLANTA — The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division is fining the City of Atlanta for what it said were more than 100 “illicit discharges” of pollutants and sewage into local rivers and creeks.
According to a consent decree obtained by Channel 2 Action News, Atlanta officials have 30 days to send a check to Georgia DNR for $163,000 as part of an agreed settlement over the spills.
The consent decree said multiple unpermitted discharges occurred across the area the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management has responsibility for from 2022 to 2023 led to spills of raw sewage and partially treated wastewater entering state waters.
“From July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, the Respondent reported a total of one hundred and six (106) instances of spills of raw sewage into waters of the State of which eight (8) were major spills exceeding 10,000 gallons in volume,” the consent decree says.
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Spills occurred at the R.M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center, South River Water Reclamation Center, Utoy Creek Water Reclamation Center and Clear Creek Combined Sewer Control Facility.
These discharges caused “an upset to the treatment process” of water in the area on multiple occasions, causing violations of fecal coliform limits, levels of ammonia, phosphorus and dissolved oxygen, excessive turbidity in sand filters and loss of settleability of secondary clarifiers, among other impacts on the water system.
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“Within thirty (30) days of the execution date of this Order, pay $163,056.81 to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources for the violations listed in this Order,” the order says.
Additionally, Atlanta will have 90 days to submit a plan for investigating and reducing the amount of illicit substances entering R.M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center, the facility tied to several of the spills in violation of the Water Quality Act, according to DNR.
Atlanta water officials will also have to submit a report to DNR evaluating the cause of elevated solids in the water treatment process within 30 days, along with what steps they’re taking to correct the issues and a timeline for implementation.
Channel 2 Action News has reached out to the City of Atlanta and Department of Watershed Management for comment on the consent decree and fines and are waiting for their responses.
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