in
the 22 July 2013 Work Session
Here is the letter discussed (“So at this point, in order to comply with the deadline submitted by EPD, it was necessary to go ahead and work with Lovell on this.”)
and approved (“The water is good, right?”)
at the
23 July Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission,
obtained through an Open Records Request by April Huntley,
plus a transcription.
You may wonder, as I do, why the county didn’t just put it online
along with the agenda, like so many other county commissions and
city councils do. Continue reading
Tag Archives: GA EPD
The water is good now, right? –Demarcus Marshall about Alapaha Water Treatment @ LCC 2013-07-23
A County Commissioner wanted the Utilities Director to confirm that the water was already good before the county fixes the treatment plant at Alapaha Plantation, at the 23 July Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.
7.b. Letter to Environmental Protection Division concerning Alapaha Water Treatment Plant Upgrade
Regarding the letter written by Lovell Engineering to GA EPD on behalf of the
county, discussed in the previous morning’s
22 July 2013 Work Session,
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall asked:
I just had a question regarding the timing of the letter. I know it says eight month pilot study. And I just wanted to know for the record, that the water is good now, right? It’s drinkable, and so forth, just for the public to be aware that it’s not some public health risk out there.
Answer from Utilities Director Mike Allen: Continue reading
Wastewater violation on the Alapaha River @ LCC 2013-07-22
The County has another wastewater violation, this time at the Alapaha River,
and is late in doing something about it.
Don’t be surprised if we see an emergency change order in a future session.
This was at the
Monday 22 July 2013 Lowndes County Commission Work Session; they vote tonight.
7.b. Letter to Environmental Protection Division concerning Alapaha Water Treatment Plant Upgrade
It’s because of a notice of violation from GA EPD, said Utilities Director Mike Allen, and he’d been working with Lovell Engineering on a letter to say the problem of disinfection byproducts would be fixed by the end of March 2015.
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall wanted to know Continue reading
SPLOST, Children’s Appointment, Prisoners, and Water @ LCC 2013-07-22
A SPLOST VII presentation, an appointment to the
Department of Family & Children’s Services Board,
rehiring prisoners who are cheaper than local labor,
and a letter to GA EPD about an upgrade to
the Alapaha Water Treatment Plant they’ve been tinkering with since
13 and 14 August 2007 at least.
Is this the upgrade
Reed Construction Data says is on US 84,
was engineered by Lovell Engineering?
If so, it’s for:
Water Treatment, Sewage Treatment The Work To Be Done Shall Consist Of Furnishing All Labor Materials & Equipment Necessary To Construct The Project Titled Alapaha Water Treatment Facility As Shown On The Construction Drawings In General Construction Consists Of Approximately 950 LF Of 6 PVC Watermain, Relocation Of 20000 Gallon Hydro-Pneumatic Tank, Valves, Fittings, Controls, Erosion Control Grassing, 2 Submersible Wells, Water Supplies Sulfide Removal Stripper Tank, 2 Booster Pumps, 16′ X 16′ Blcok Masonry Bldg & All Other Associated Apertures Necessary For A Complete Installation
Here’s the agenda.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERSContinue reading
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JULY 22, 2013, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JULY 23, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Status of (not Valdosta) Lowndes County Waste Water Spill
After learning that Lowndes County (not Valdosta) was having a waste water spill,
I called the Utilities Department
and asked to speak with Director Mike Allen.
The person that answered the phone said that he was not available and perhaps she could answer my question or put me through to his voice mail. I figured that perhaps I could get some of my questions answered so I asked about the status of the current waste water spill. She said that it had been repaired as of 5am today (April 26).
I then asked if it would be possible to get a copy of the Overflow
Emergency Response Program and she asked my name. When I said my
name (Gretchen Quarterman) she said that I would have to talk to
Paige Dukes
and she would transfer me.
After a long wait, she came back on the phone and said she would
transfer me and I was transferred to the voice mail of Paige Dukes.
I did not leave a message.
-gretchen
Major Spills: What to Do –GA DNR
Apparently whoever is responsible for a major spill into Georgia waters
needs to immediately tell GA EPD DNR and the local health department
and post a sign, and
the sewage leak at GA 133 into the Withlacoochee River
qualifies as a major spill.
The City of Valdosta reported it as such, but it’s not clear it was their spill (update: it was Lowndes County’s spill).
Excerpts below from GA DNR’s guidelines.
-jsq
Water Quality: A Guide for Municipal Compliance by Mick Smith, Environmental Engineer.
Continue readingSpills and Major Spills
Spill
- Any discharge of raw sewage < 10,000 gallons to waters of the state
Major Spill
- Any discharge of raw sewage > 10,000 gallons to waters of the state
- BOD5 or TSS = 1.5 x weekly avg. permit limit
- Any discharge resulting in a water quality violation
Circular wastewater firing squad continues
The VDT's Sunday front page was covered with wastewater stories, continuing the circular firing squad of the local powers that be. Meanwhile in Dublin, GA, they're breaking ground for solar panels at the local high school, using a bond financing model that we could use here, if local leaders would look up.
In addition to
some detail about the city's FEMA application
and
following up on flooded yards,
the VDT followed up on
its EPD and EPA scrutiny story
with one saying
City received help from EPD to keep EPA away.
It's good the VDT is covering these issues, but it's still leaving out
important parts of the local water story.
Apparently firing back at
Thursday's Valdosta City Council session,
perhaps especially
Robert Yost's very pointed criticisms of the VDT,
the VDT concluded its
rather rich Sunday editoral:
City leaders, please, no more of the blame game. The citizens of this community are imploring you to just accept responsibility and fix it.
Yet the VDT has spent the last week blaming the city, and has accepted no responsibility for its own role, or that of its editor, Kay Harris, in the recent loss of the SPLOST referendum that would have further funded wastewater work in Valdosta.
Now, I agree with the VDT that Continue reading
What does Lowndes Comprehensive Plan say about river corridor protection?
Is the Lowndes County Commission a “Qualified Local Government”?
Georgia state law says perennial river corridors
shall be protected,
all of the major rivers in Lowndes County
(Alapaha, Withlacoochee, Little)
qualify as perennial,
and
GA EPD rules say
to be a “Qualified Local Government” a comprehensive plan including
River Corridor Protection Plans with protection for a natural vegetative
buffer area bordering each protected river is required.
GA DCA keeps a list of all the comprehensive plans in the state. Here’s Lowndes County’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan. The main document is the Community Agenda and here is the map. Hm, the map shows a light blue color for “Park/Recreation/Conservation” for parts of the Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers in Lowndes County, but not all. What about the rest of those rivers in the county?
What does the Community Agenda say? It doesn’t mention any River Corridor Protection Plans. However, it does say this:
Continue readingChanges to Lowndes County’s Unified Land Development Code (ULDC) @ GLPC 2012-08-27
Did you know
last night’s Planning Commission meeting included
a public hearing about changes to the county’s
Unified Land Development Code (ULDC)
related to land disturbances and water quality?
You wouldn’t have found out about that in the agenda,
because
it wasn’t posted anywhere you’d be likely to see it.
(Where does GLPC post the one physical copy of the agenda required by law,
anyway?)
Supposedly it was advertised in the Valdosta Daily Times,
but a search
of Public Notices in Statewide Database of Public Notices from Georgia’s Legal Organ Newspapers
for 1 June 2012 through 27 August 2012 finds nothing.
Here’s what
the agenda item for the 27 August 2012 GLPC meeting
(that we only know about because Gretchen went to that GLPC meeting
and asked County Planner Jason Davenport)
says:
From a procedural standpoint the amendment has been advertised in the Valdosta Daily Times to fulfill legal requirements. Beyond legal requirements staff has plans to post this agenda item and draft ULDC on the Lowndes County Website at http://www.lowndescounty.com/content.asp?pid=23&id=224. Regarding staff review of the amendments, the TRC recommended for their approval at their 08/16 regular meeting.
If you’d happened to look several levels deep on the Lowndes County website you would have found that undated announcement:
Continue reading