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Committee approves $290,817 payment and consent order to resolve RM Clayton compliance violations; council seeks follow-up briefing
Summary
The City Utilities Committee approved a consent order and $290,817.33 payment to the Georgia EPD to resolve compliance violations at the RM Clayton treatment plant.
The City Utilities Committee on April 11 approved an ordinance authorizing the Department of Watershed Management to execute a consent order with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) and to pay $290,817.33 to resolve alleged compliance violations, including failures to sample, laboratory-analysis failures, reporting failures and spills between July 2023 and November 2024.
Council member Hillis questioned the timing and the committee’s receipt of the paperwork. He noted the letter from EPD was dated Jan. 15 and asked why the council had not received the legislation sooner. Hillis requested a more detailed briefing on RM Clayton’s compliance status and the federal lawsuit he said is pending. “So the first question just administratively ... what was the issue?” he asked.
Commissioner Al Wiggins said the letter went through several edits with the Department of Law and internal staff, which delayed delivery to council. He reported the department is “actively working on the issues that were brought to our attention by the EPD” and said repairs are ongoing. Wiggins said the plant is operating under a plan that has addressed the majority of the issues and acknowledged some remaining work related to BNRs (biological nutrient removal) and weather-related impacts to effluent lab results.
Wiggins committed to a follow-up meeting with council members and legal staff for a detailed briefing on components replaced, remaining work and timelines. He said the department will give a “much more detailed update on the components that were replaced, the work that still needs to be done to the plant.”
The committee amended the ordinance to attach the consent order exhibit and approved the amended item by recorded vote (5 yeas, 0 nays). The committee instructed the department to provide additional documentation and a compliance briefing to the committee and to include Department of Law personnel in that briefing.
Ending: The committee approved payment to resolve the state compliance matter and scheduled a follow-up briefing request; staff will return with full documentation and a status update on RM Clayton compliance and ongoing remedial actions.
