In the wake of the massive fish kill in May of this year, we stepped up our monitoring and testing of water and sediment in the river.  Those tests revealed elevated levels of multiple pollutants at and downstream from King America Finishing’s discharge pipe.  Ogeechee Riverkeeper, in keeping with its mission, is demanding that the discharges in violation of Georgia water quality standards cease. 

King America Finishing, Inc. is in violation of the Clean Water Act as a result of the ongoing unpermitted discharges from its textile facility, which is operating under National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) permit number GA0003280.

King America Finishing, Inc. is discharging color, ammonia and formaldehyde in violation of its permit and Georgia water quality standards. In addition, the plant’s discharges are in violation of state water quality and numeric permit limits for pH.

Georgia’s state water quality standards require that “[a]ll waters shall be free from material related to municipal, industrial or other discharges which produce turbidity, color, odor or other objectionable conditions which interfere with legitimate water uses.”  King America Finishing, Inc.’s permit specifically states that the permittee “may not discharge toxic pollutants in concentrations or combinations that are harmful to humans, animals, or aquatic life.” 

"We’ve received complaints from citizens about this site going back to 2002.  Unfortunately, repeated complaints to state and federal agencies have failed to adequately address the problems with this discharge," states Dianna Wedincamp, Ogeechee Riverkeeper.  “By bringing this litigation, which will be costly and time-consuming for our organization, we hope to prevent King America Finishing Inc. from causing future harm to the Ogeechee River."

Ogeechee Riverkeeper’s mission is to protect and preserve the Ogeechee, Canoochee, and coastal rivers.  Ensuring these rivers are free from pollution is Ogeechee Riverkeeper’s top priority.  Your support is vital to our success!

What began as a fish kill in Screven County continues to decimate fish and wildlife as far south as Kings Ferry in Chatham County. On Sunday May 22, Georgia's DNR and EPD sent public notice to not swim in the River or ingest fish taken from it. But many friends and families had already enjoyed a full weekend on the River.

Reported illnesses range from skin rashes to stomach upsets. Anyone having health concerns regarding the Ogeechee River are urged to contact their family physician and report it to their respective health departments.

http://www.wtoc.com/Global/story.asp?S=14722113

For more information:
Coastal Health District (Bryan, Effingham, Chatham Counties)
http://gachd.org/

Southeast Health District (Bulloch County)
http://www.sehdph.org/

East Central Public Health District (Screven County)
http://www.ecphd.com/common/content.asp?PAGE=521

At issue is whether the state set the emissions limits in the permit according to the law for such pollutants as metals and organic hazardous air pollutants, dioxins and furans, and course particulate matter.  Judge Walker has already ruled in favor of the petitioners' challenges to two water-related permits, sending those permits back to Georgia's Environmental Protection Division for further review.

"Conveniently, Power4Georgians claims it will emit 4.951micrograms per cubic meter of coarse particulate matter, within a hair's breadth of the 5.0 level that would require significant additional modeling.  To skip the full modeling study, P4G relied on weather conditions that included measurements from Centreville, AL, which is about 250 miles away, failed to account for worst-case scenarios in daily air pollution emissions, and took credit for an aggressive level of dust reduction based on a non-existent dust control plan.  When those mistakes and others are fixed, this plant could violate health based air quality standards."

“This is a bad deal for everyone but Dean Alford,” said Colleen Kiernan, Georgia Chapter Director of the Sierra Club. “Those EMC customers get stuck with a risky investment and Washington County lungs filter dangerous air pollutants.  It doesn’t make sense when Oglethorpe Power has enormous excess capacity in at least six natural gas-fired power plants that are already built.”

A major concern voiced by the groups involved in the law suit is the impact of these air pollutants on people’s health near the coal-fired power plant.

“Just last week a new report showed us that Georgia already bears significant burden from air pollution from coal-fired power plants, which are estimated to cause 536 deaths, 396 hospital admissions, and 728 heart attacks per year.” said Ulla-Britt Reeves, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “These are severe, existing health impacts and illustrate that we do not need another polluting coal plant in our state.  It’s high time that GA EPD take a stand to protect public health and not the interests of the coal industry.”             

“A coal-fired plant will greatly increase the respiratory problems for elderly people and young children. Different chemicals in the pollution from coal-fired coal plants irritate the lungs and cause asthma and emphysema. Small particles even get into the blood stream and can cause heart attacks and strokes,” said Dr. Karen Kinsell, an internist in Fort Gaines, GA. 

A local community group, Fall-line Alliance for a Clean Environment, has significant concerns over this air pollution from the coal plant affecting churches and historical structures near the proposed industry.  “The fabric of our community is held together by our histories. We know that sulfur dioxide has been proven to erode historical markers in cemeteries and we don’t want that to happen to our historic buildings and old gravesites, some of which are over 150 years old,” said Katherine Cummings.

“It’s a shame that the Georgia Environmental Protection Division has issued permits that would allow this permit to dump tons of hazardous pollutants into our air that threaten our families’ health and our ability to use controlled burns to manage our timber stands,” said Chandra Brown, Ogeechee Riverkeeper.  “Georgia’s timber industry produces jobs that are important to our south Georgia community.”

A recording of a webinar on the legal, health, and forestry related concerns is available with audio and slides is available at www.georgiansforsmartenergy.org

For More Information Contact:  Dianna Wedincamp, Program Director, dwedincamp@ogeecheeriverkeeper.org

OGEECHEE RIVER BACTERIA LEVELS NEAR MIDVILLE LOW FOR NOW

Statesboro, GA – On June 15, The Forest-Blade ran an article on the reported spills and the City of Midville’s failures to properly post signs warning river users of other 1 million gallons of sewage into the river in February.  Last week, Ogeechee Riverkeeper Program Director, Dianna Wedincamp, took to the river to collect water samples near the sewage treatment plant.

From Drop Box

“We received a lot of calls after The Forest-Blade ran an article about the sewage entering the river,” said Dianna Wedincamp.  “We wanted to check out the bacteria levels in the river now to see if there is an ongoing problem from the sewage plant.   On June 22, we collected three samples from the river upstream, downstream and at the sewage discharge at Midville.  Thankfully the bacteria levels in these samples are below the levels that would trigger a warning for boating or fishing.”

Since the article ran, the City of Midville has moved the improperly placed signage warning of the sewage spill to more visible locations, as required by law.  The City also corrected language that improperly labeled over 1 million gallons of sewage entering the river as being “a minor” spill.  According to documentation received from Georgia Environmental Protection Division, the spill was caused by a combination of excessive rainfall and ongoing malfunctions of equipment at the sewage plant in January and February of this year. 

“In addition to collecting samples from the river, Ogeechee Riverkeeper has been reviewing the numerous recorded problems with this sewage plant,” said Chandra Brown, Ogeechee Riverkeeper.  “In September 2009, the City of Midville was issued a consent order due to ongoing problems excessive bacteria entering the river.  Then just a few months later, a piece of equipment malfunctions sending over million gallons of sewage into the Ogeechee.  These ongoing problems indicate a system wide failure in the sewage plant that must be addressed to protect people’s health.”

During their review of this facility, Ogeechee Riverkeeper uncovered numerous violations at other facilities discharging into the Ogeechee River.  “Many of these small towns have very old sewage plants,” continued Ms. Brown.  “They’re really just very basic sewage treatment.  It’s our goal to help these communities find the funding to upgrade and prevent the repeated failures that we’re seeing now.”

“With a major holiday coming up, I’m glad that the bacteria levels in the river look okay right now,” said Ms. Wedincamp.  “But people should still be cautious and let us know if they smell sewage or see discolored water anywhere along the river.  I want people to be able to use the river like I did growing up, fishing, swimming and boating, without having to worry about getting sick.”

Ogeechee Riverkeeper will continue to collect samples in this area and will alert people via Facebook, email and their website if the pollution levels in the river rise.  To report problems or learn more about the Ogeechee, Canoochee and coastal rivers, contact Ogeechee Riverkeeper at 866-942-6222 or www.ogeecheeriverkeeper.org.

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Photo Caption:  Program Director, Dianna Wedincamp collects samples on the river near Midville.  The first round of samples show low bacteria levels.

The state water withdrawal permit fails to set necessary limits on the amount of water the plant can take from the Oconee River for use at a proposed plant located in the Ogeechee River watershed. Without adequate limits, communities such as Dublin-area farms and other downstream users along the Oconee River would be left without sufficient water resources.

The state water discharge permit fails to limit the temperature of heated wastewater discharged by the proposed plant into the Oconee River, changing the river's ecology, depleting available oxygen in its waters, and harming fish and other wildlife that depend on the river and coastal systems.

"Hazardous air pollutants from the plant will compromise the Ogeechee River basin," said Chandra Brown, executive director of the Ogeechee Riverkeeper. "Our recent report, Protect Yourself and Your Family from Mercury Pollution, shows that additional mercury deposition from Plant Washington would prevent people who fish from safely eating the fish they catch."

Plant Washington is a project of Power4Georgians, a company organized by Cobb Electrical Membership Corporation (EMC) and four other EMCs.

For more information, please visit the following links:

http://green-law.org/core/item/page.aspx?s=88885.0.101.19069

http://www.southernenvironment.org/newsroom/press_releases/groups_challenge_proposed_plant_washington/

The photo contest begins February 24, 2010, and winners will be announced at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Statesboro on April 8, 2010. 

Photos should be of the rivers, streams, swamps and coast in the Ogeechee and Canoochee basins. Entries to be submitted by March 26, 2010.

For information regarding the entry specificiations and requirements, visit the Ogeechee Riverkeeper's website at www.ogeecheeriverkeeper.org. Entries must be submitted by March 26, 2010