EPD issues order on Statham sludge pit

By J. Shawn Durham
Staff Writer

   STATHAM -- The state Environmental Protection Division Tuesday issued a consent order to the Barrow County city of Statham for what the agency says was an illegal dumping of sludge into a pit that claimed an 11-year-old boy's life.
   A consent order is a statement of guidelines issued by the EPD that must be followed by municipalities accused of violating environmental laws.
   The order was issued because the pit -- located on city-owned property off Peters Street -- was illegally created to dry excess sludge from the nearby wastewater treatment facility before the dried sludge was taken to a private landfill in Winder, according to Bob Bishop, manager of EPD's Athens office.
   On May 22, Randolph Rainwater of Euclid Street drowned in the sludge pit as he and a friend rode their bicycles along a dirt bank that gave way, sending them into a nearly 6-foot-deep pit of sludge.
   Last week, the city had cleaned up the pit, putting the sludge in a holding pond at the nearby wastewater treatment plant.
   The city has 10 days to respond to the consent order and request changes or ask questions, Bishop said. Bishop would not provide details of the consent order or say what would happen if the city does not respond.
   ''Usually the consent order is based upon a few things,'' Bishop said Tuesday. ''There are some things that we would like to see corrected in the city's operations.''
   Bishop hinted Tuesday that EPD officials were concerned by the apparent lack of documentation surrounding the decision to create the sludge pit. He said the EPD would like to see ''a sign of better management'' of the wastewater facility by the city of Statham.
   ''We would like to see more paperwork and more documentation about how the city runs its plant and on a number of things,'' he said. ''(The city) needs to do a better job of keeping up with those things.''
   An open-records request filed by the Athens Daily News with the city of Statham for documents regarding the decision process behind the sludge pit produced only a copy of a letter the city sent to the EPD to clean up the pit. Nothing was released regarding the creation of the pit.
   Statham Mayor Robert Bridges did not respond to numerous calls and messages left at his home and City Hall office Tuesday.
   Bishop said he believes the consent order could be ''signed and dealt with'' by the city council at its regular meeting Tuesday.
   The city could be fined as much as $50,000 per day for violating federal water quality laws in connection to the sludge pit. The pit could also subject the city to fines in connection with the violations of federal solid waste laws. Those fines would total $1,000 for the first day of a violation, with $500 fines for subsequent days of violation.
   However, monetary settlements -- punitive fines mutually agreed upon by the EPD and a violating municipality -- cannot be determined until the city signs the consent order. Also, the EPD's investigative report tracing the events that led to the illegal sludge pit must be sent to EPD Director Harold Reheis in Atlanta before any monetary settlement can be reached.
   All of those things, Bishop said, will occur soon after the city responds to the consent order.
   ''Right now, I guess you could say the city has the ball in their court,'' he said.