Greg Miller, armed with his own Web site and savvy laboratory skills, is taking on Columbia County and state officials to halt soil erosion from a construction site near his Evans home.

"This thing got so bad I had to take up a home (Web) site and put updates on it," said Mr. Miller, who lives in The Cove subdivision off Point Comfort Road. "There's a lot of concern out that way."

Mr. Miller's site includes photos of muddy waterways and updates on his battle to stop the alleged runoff of soil from the construction of a middle school on Blackstone Camp Road into nearby streams.

Mr. Miller, a lab technician at Augusta State Medical Prison and a Realtor, said county officials continually deny a runoff problem exists at the site.

However, Mr. Miller estimates that as much 85,000 pounds of soil from the site could have ran into the streams, which he said connect to the Savannah River, based on the results of a water sample study that he had conducted by the county water works department last week.

"The county keeps saying there's nothing leaving the site," Mr. Miller said. "That's a bunch of bull. The Cove turns yellow every time it rains."

County Engineer Miguel Valentin said inspectors examined the site after complaints and found no evidence of runoff.

"They did find some erosion occurring within the construction site, but the sediment did not leave the site, because it flows into siltation basins, which are required on the construction projects just for that purpose: to intercept silt particles before they leave the site," Mr. Valentin wrote in an e-mail.

No regulations were violated, he wrote.

County schools Associate Superintendent Charles Nagle said silt fences and other erosion prevention measures at the construction site abide by state Environmental Protection Division standards.

"If you get some heavy rain, there's no way to prevent some runoff," he said. "But we've tested that site, sent the results to the EPD, and we're in compliance."

OneSource Development co-owner George McDavid, the site developer for the school board, said many erosion control measures are in place at the site and that he has received no complaints from the county or EPD.

Mr. Miller said he recently filed a second complaint with the EPD about the runoff problem. He filed his first complaint about two weeks ago and must wait two weeks before he can make a third complaint, at which point the EPD will inspect the area, he said.

Mr. Miller said he misses the days when EPD was more directly involved in erosion control.

In January, the agency adopted a new set of guidelines allowing local counties more authority in enforcing erosion control measures employed by builders.

"When I could call the EPD, I got some things done," Mr. Miller said. "They would come out and write builders up.

"I don't have a thing against development and building houses, but, dadgummit, some builders just do what they want to."

Jeff Darley, a program manager for the EPD's east central district office, said his office recently received a report from Columbia County's engineering department regarding site visits by the county to the Blackstone Camp Road construction area.

That report states that on a Sept. 7 visit, all Best Management Practices were in place, but "we did note some areas that did not appear to be adequately protected with those BMPs shown on the plan alone."

The developer was asked to take corrective action, including additional temporary grassing and outlet protection below a second sediment pond.

MR. DARLEY SAID THAT when his office first receives complaints about runoff at such a site, those concerns are forwarded to the county, which is then required by EPD to visit the site and submit a report within 14 days detailing any problems found and corrective action requested.

Mr. Darley said that if more resident complaints come to his office after those corrective actions are given to the developer, the area EPD office will visit the site and determine whether there is a valid problem. If there is, a second letter is sent to the county requiring another county inspection and calls for corrective action.

If problems persist after the second set of inspections, Mr. Darley said, the EPD can get involved in the enforcement process.

Mr. Darley said that more than a week ago, his office received as many as six public complaints about the construction site, which he said is an unusually high number in a short time frame.

"We routinely handle a lot of complaints out of this office, or refer a lot, because we cover 17 counties," he said.

"But to have, say, four complaints come in on the same day on the same site, that's excessive. It tells us there's something wrong."

Still, Mr. Darley said his office is currently satisfied with the county's inspection and recommended actions to the developer.

"Our hope by this is that that resolves the issue and we don't hear from the complainant again, but if we do, then we do have a next step in our procedures that we follow," Mr. Darley said.

Reach Preston Sparks or Donnie Fetter at (706) 868-1222 or ccchron@augustachronicle.com.