EPA v. DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA

Case summary

Clean Water Act Consent Decree Entered Against DeKalb County, Georgia. On December 20, 2011, the District Court for the Northern District of Georgia entered a Consent Decree settling violations of Section 301 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) by DeKalb County, Georgia (DeKalb). The State of Georgia is a co-plaintiff with the United States in this action. EPA Region 4 had previously referred the matter to the Department of Justice for civil enforcement on May 30, 2008. DeKalb owns and operates two major waste water treatment plants regulated under the CWA?s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System by the State of Georgia Department of Natural Resources? Environmental Protection Division, which is authorized by EPA to implement the CWA in the State of Georgia. The sewage collection and transmission system (CTS) which DeKalb owns and operates includes approximately 3,000 miles of gravity lines, 40 miles of pressurized force mains, 80,000 manholes, and 60 pump stations. DeKalb?s CTS is a separate sewer system designed to convey only municipal sewage, not stormwater. DeKalb discharges both treated and untreated sewage into Snapfinger Creek, Pole Bridge Creek, and other water bodies that flow into the Upper Ocmulgee Watershed and the Upper Chattahoochee Watershed, which are navigable waters of the United States, as defined by Section 502(7) of the CWA. There are many waterbodies comprising these watersheds that are included on the State of Georgia?s reports under Section 303(d) of the CWA which list water bodies that do not meet, or are not expected to meet, fecal coliform and other water quality criteria. Through its investigation, EPA has documented numerous sanitary sewer overlows (SSOs) from DeKalb?s CTS which constitute significant violations of the CWA. The Consent Decree will require DeKalb to implement comprehensive remedial measures designed to eliminate SSOs including the assessment and rehabilitation of a priority areas containing the oldest sewers in the CTS. DeKalb will also develop and implement numerous Management, Operation and Maintenance (MOM) Programs including: a Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) Program (grease blockages being the primary cause of SSOs); a Contingency and Emergency Response Plan; a Sewer Mapping Program; a Maintenance Management System Program; a Training Program; a System-Wide Flow and Rainfall Monitoring Program; a System-Wide Hydraulic Model Program; a Financial Analysis Program; an Infrastructure Acquisition Program; and a Continuing Sewer Assessment and Rehabilitation Program. Pursuant to the Consent Decree, DeKalb will also pay a civil penalty of $453,000 and perform a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) valued at $600,000 which entails the cleanup of streams previously affected by SSOs. The Consent Decree was entered by the Court over the objection of two intervening parties. The Court rejected the objections of the Scottsdale Mill Village Neighborhood Association (SMVNA) who claimed that the sewer pipes in its neighborhood were owned by DeKalb and thus should be included within the priority areas to be rehabilitated. The Court ruled that entry of the Consent Decree would not affect the SMVNA?s rights to litigate the property dispute issue. The Court also rejected the South River Watershed Alliance?s (SRVA?s) objections to the ?develop and implement? process for the FOG Program. The SRVA argued that the Consent Decree should be much more specific and prescriptive regarding the actual provisions of DeKalb?s FOG Program rather than allowing DeKalb to follow more general parameters to develop a specific Program which is then subject to EPA review and approval.

Defendants (1)

• DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIANamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (3)

• DEKALB COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF WATERSHED MANAGEMENT (SNAPFINGER CREEK AWWTF)

  4124 FLAKES MILL ROAD, DECATUR, GA, 30034

  Registry ID: 110038642831

• DEKALB COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF WATERSHED MANAGEMENT (SNAPFINGER CREEK AWWTF)

  4124 FLAKES MILL ROAD, DECATUR, GA, 30034

  Registry ID: 110038642831

• DEKALB COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF WATERSHED MANAGEMENT (POLEBRIDGE CREEK AWWTF)

  4664 FLAT BRIDGE RD, LITHONIA, GA, 30038

  Registry ID: 110064625339

Statutes cited

• CWA 301/402 — NPDES Permit Violations
• CWA 301 — NPDES Discharge without a Permit

Enforcement conclusions (2)

• DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIAentered 2011-12-20

  Primary law: CWA

  Federal penalty: $226,500 · State/local: $226,500 · SEP: $600,000

• DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIAentered 2021-09-22

  Primary law: CWA

  Federal penalty: $523,500 · State/local: $523,500

Timeline (5 milestones)

• 2008-05-30Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2008-06-12Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2010-12-13Complaint Filed With Court
• 2010-12-13Final Order Lodged
• 2021-09-22Final Order Entered