About 400 Residents of Habersham subdivision and the surrounding area have been discharging wastewater from a private sewer system for years in violation of the EPDs zero tolerance policy on water quality. Its the homeowners themselves that are crying for action. Is anybody listening?
With lake levels at their lowest in years, now is probably not the best time for bad news about violations of sewage discharge into the lake. Even worse would be the fact that this is not news at all. Its been happening for over 4 years, and the problem could get worse if something isn't done soon.
In order to legally operate any private sewer system, the owner/operator must have a permit from the Environmental Protection Division. Additionally, strict water quality standards with zero tolerance, plus many other conditions, must be met for a permit to discharge wastewater into Lake Lanier. The Habersham sewer has consistently violated these standards
Why hasn't the EPD taken action? Why hasn't anyone taken action?
Well for starters, its not even clear who owns the system. This has been a subject of dispute and a legal entanglement for several years. At one point the system was presented for sale to the City of Cumming, who was already running a new sewer line to within a few feet of the private sewer, but the owner at the time, IFS Utility, and the City of Cumming failed to reach an agreement on its value, which included a valuable lake discharge permit and 10 acres of real estate along Buford Dam road. Residents who used the sewer became frustrated with IFS Utility, and formed an entity known as the Habersham Action Committee. After some legal battles. Habersham Action Committe became temporary owners of the system via a quit claim deed from IFS, with the intention of turning the system over to the city. Soon after this, however, the attorney who wrote this deed was disbarred - for writing false quit claim deeds. The deal with the city never happened, and ever since, the residents have been left "holding the bag".
For 4 years now, the antiquated sewer system has been operated by Habersham Action Committee, Inc. A group of homeowners who volunteer their time and money to keep it running, but this cannot last much longer. "The matter is at a very critical point." volunteer operator Glenn Berny stated. "The Permit to operate the sewer expires on 12/31/08. Our association has no intent to renew the permit. The system is beyond obsolescence. We have alerted the EPD, The Lake Lanier association, the Corp. of Engineers and the county." If the sewer system were to simply be shut down, raw sewage would quickly overflow into the nearby valley, which leads directly into Lake Lanier. The discharge permit alone is worth millions (just ask Gwinnett County - they have been trying to get one for years) .
The logical remedy for this situation is for the City of Cumming to take over operation of the sewer system. If the system is connected to the City's sewer line, there will no longer be a need to discharge into the lake at all. With the current ownership in dispute, however, the city appears uninterested in moving forward with efforts to take it over. Calls to the City of Cumming regarding this issue were not returned.
"We have negotiated in good faith." Berny said. "The city has a sewer system available to all new building sites in our area. We have offered to pay in excess of the city rate. We have offered our EPD permit to discharge. We have offered the Land along Buford road of great value. We have tried all avenues of cooperation to no avail."
Through an agreement with Habersham Action Committee, The City of Cumming currently manages the billing of the sewer system, and provides occasional maintenance support, but has no legal claim nor responsibility for the system. "We could not operate without the assistance of the most gracious and courteous folks at the City water and sewer Dept." Berny said.
An interesting twist to this situation is the location of the sewer discharge - Directly across the cove from Mary Alice Park, site of the anticipated Great Wolf Resort. The US Army Corps of Engineers recently conducted an environmental assessment of the area, which included details such as the crime rate at Mary Alice Park, and the presence of fecal coliform bacteria in the water due to geese. The assessment appears, however, to ignore the existence of this substandard sewer discharge.
