The director of the Ellijay-Gilmer County Water and Sewerage Authority (EGCWSA) is responding to a recent TV news report, which said the water authority has allowed landfills to deposit millions of gallons of waste into the local wastewater treatment plant without state-required permits.
The 11Alive News report stated the water authority did not issue pretreatment permits for the Pine Bluff Landfill in Cherokee County and the Eagle Point Landfill in Forsyth County.
Both landfills have brought more than 25,000 gallons of leachate, or landfill runoff, at a time to the local wastewater plant for processing, making them what the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) considers a significant industrial user.
The state EPD requires wastewater plants to issue pretreatment permits to any industrial user that discharges an average of 25,000 gallons or more of process wastewater per day. Georgia EPD sent a letter to the water authority last December indicating that records show the wastewater plant received leachate from both landfills exceeding an average of 25,000 gallons a day. The letter also requested a review of the situation and response from the water authority.
Gary McVey, EGCWSA director, said Georgia EPD inspects the wastewater plant’s pretreatment program each year, and the two landfills not being issued permits is basically “a paperwork issue.”
McVey said pretreatment permits weren’t given to the Pine Bluff and Eagle Point Landfills because the leachate doesn’t go directly into the sewer system.
“It’s hauled in. We impound it, hold it and leak it into the plant a little at a time. We chose not to issue them a permit because I could argue it doesn’t meet the definition,” he added.
In a response to questions from the Times-Courier, Georgia EPD stated they and the water authority initially disagreed on whether the two landfills should be handled as significant industrial users and issued local pretreatment permits, but the water authority will soon be issuing those permits to the two landfills.
According to EPD’s response, they don’t intend to pursue any kind of enforcement if the water authority complies with that responsibility.
The local wastewater plant has accepted leachate since at least 2012. It currently charges 5 cents per gallon of leachate brought there to be treated, McVey confirmed. The treated wastewater is discharged into the Coosawattee River, which feeds into Carters Lake.
The presence of PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) in leachate is drawing concern from Georgia environmental groups and others worried that the man-made chemicals aren’t fully removed from treated wastewater before it’s discharged into waterways. The substances have become known as “forever chemicals” because they resist breaking down and remain in the environment for long periods of time.
McVey said sample testing is done on leachate processed at the plant, and there are limits on several substances, including ammonia, but the EPD hasn’t taken any action or put limits on PFAS yet.
He said the water authority is in “complete compliance” with its EPD and discharge permit levels.
“There’s nothing that gets discharged into the river that’s not been treated,” McVey said.
The wastewater plant will continue to process leachate, and there are no plans to reduce the accepted amount, he confirmed.
“It’s man-made waste. It’s got to be treated. The EPD’s stance is that a municipal wastewater plant is the best treatment for leachate. We abide by the water quality rules that are set forth by the EPD,” McVey said.
Pretreatment permits for the Pine Bluff and Eagle Point Landfills should go into effect around April 1. That will require annual inspections to be done at both locations.
“We’ve been down there a few times in the past, and saw both facilities. We’re very aware of how they collect the product and haul it out to us,” McVey said.