GAINESVILLE - Officials from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) and Gainesville Public Utilities told a crowd at the Georgia Mountains Center Thursday night that the new Flat Creek wastewater treatment plant would have much improved nutrient limits in its effluent.
Some in the crowd protested that the restrictions were not as stringent as the ones the Lake Lanier Association negotiated for Gwinnett County after a court battle.
"I know the quality is improving from what they had in the past, but the technology in this world keeps going ahead," said Victor Dube. "I think when you're dealing with natural resources and our environment, we should be doing the best."
Gainesville Pubic Utilities Director Kelly Randall said the turbidity standards for effluent coming from the plant are similar in quality to drinking water standards from a few years back.
"This project cost us $25 million. It is out there. It's ready to go. We just need a permit to be able to operate it," he said.
The permit would allow the plant to expand capacity from 10.2MGD (Millions of Gallons per Day) to 12MGG, later to be upgraded to 15MGD and 18MGD. Randall said that even at ultimate capacity there would be a net reduction in current levels of many nutrients.
"Even though there would be an additional 11 million gallons of water going into that creek when the plant is operational at 18MGD, the pollutants are so greatly reduced, there will be 67% reduction in phosphorus loading from when I came here in 1987," said Randall.
The Lake Lanier Association's Val Perry commended Randall for working to improve the effluent, but urged the EPD to deny the permit, arguing that current technology would allow for even more improvement.
"The Gwinnett permit specs, which are really some 15-20 years old in terms of technology, should be the absolute minimum of any new discharges into Lake Lanier," he said. "The current plant at Flat Creek is running at better than the specifications of the Gwinnett plant. If it's running better, why should we have a permit issued that is 2 or 3 times less stringent than the plant is running already today?"
Randall confirmed that the average effluent levels had lower pollutant levels than Gwinnett specifications, but said that he could not guarantee those levels consistently or at higher flow volumes.
Darcy Holcomb of Upper Chattahoochee River Keeper asked the EPD to hold off on the permit until studies determine the plant’s effect on the nearby embayment, which she said has been listed as impaired.
"We feel like the study should be done first before they issue the permit," she said. "The water quality is degrading, and even though they have plans to improve water quality, you still need to know what the effect is."
Randal assured that those studies would be done well before increased capacity goes on line for the plant, and that the operation of the plant would require that any problems be fixed.
Several business leaders spoke at the hearing in favor of the permit.
"We came to express our support for a number of reasons," said Jerry Presley from the Council for Quality Growth. "Most importantly we believe it is in the best economic interest of the Gainesville community, as well as Hall County, the northeast Georgia- greater Atlanta area, and, ultimately, the state of Georgia."
Tim Evans, speaking for the Gainesville-Hall Economic Development Council said the plant would well serve the needs of the community's growth.
"We feel like Gainesville is doing what is necessary to support the continued growth and need of our citizens in this region for health care, for job needs, for shopping needs and for quality of life and are balancing that with good stewardship of the lake."
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