A federal judge has dismissed a 2019 lawsuit filed by the South River Watershed Alliance over releases of raw sewage in DeKalb County, ruling the group did not prove that federal and state agencies have been lax in addressing the problem.
U.S. District Judge Steven Grimberg found the non-profit alliance did not have legal standing because it failed to establish that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division were not doing enough to enforce provisions of a 2010 consent decree.
"The Court does not take lightly Plaintiffs’ allegations and evidence of DeKalb’s repeated discharge of sewage into public waterways," Grimberg's ruling states.
"Plaintiffs’ claims substantially cover the same alleged violations for which the EPA and EPD are already prosecuting DeKalb. And Plaintiffs’ claims substantially cover the same alleged violations for which the EPA and EPD are already prosecuting DeKalb," Judge Grimberg wrote.
"Plaintiffs have failed to allege any facts that could plausibly overcome the heavy presumption of diligence afforded to the EPA and EPD. As such, Plaintiffs cannot maintain this citizen suit as a matter of law."
A federal district court is allowing environmental officials to revise the existing consent agreement with DeKalb County. According to a status report issued by the court, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will present a revised agreement by Oct. 23. It would then be considered by DeKalb County's Board of Commissioners and CEO Michael Thurmond.
Thurmond said last year that it could take another five years to meet the requirements of the consent decree, which stemmed from a federal and state complaint alleging DeKalb County was violating the Clean Water Act and the Georgia Water Quality Control Act. The county has paid civil penalties because of continued overflows from its aging sewer system.
In a statement on its Facebook page, the alliance said the ruling "is like turning back the environmental protection clock 50 years."
"Our case against DeKalb County was critical to improving water quality & a healthier future for the river. Judge Grimberg's ruling effectively removes the protections of 1972 Federal Clean Water Act from two-thirds of DeKalb County that is not covered under the consent decree and ALL of the South River," the alliance said.
