Well it is about time Maybe S--T River can survive.
Improving oxygen levels in Savannah Harbor could require Augusta-area industries and municipal waste systems to invest in better sewage treatment technology as a condition of retaining or renewing discharge permits.
According to Georgia's Environmental Protection Division, which will hold a public hearing next week to discuss regulatory changes, all wastewater permits in the Savannah River Basin are "on hold" pending adoption of new standards for dissolved oxygen.
As part of a settlement to a 1994 lawsuit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concluded that water in the harbor is deficient in dissolved oxygen. The agency's proposed remedy was to limit oxygen-depleting discharges 200 miles upstream, where Augusta industries and wastewater plants release millions of gallons of wastewater each day.
In theory, the EPA's edict could have forced cities to shut down wastewater programs, but such a rule was deemed unenforceable. Because the river is technically in violation of the federal Clean Water Act, however, EPD has placed all wastewater permitting matters on hold until a new oxygen standard is adopted.
New oxygen standard options will be presented during the public hearing Thursday.
Reach Rob Pavey at 868-1222, ext. 119 or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com.
ISSUES AT A GLANCE
THE PLAN: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan to improve water quality in Savannah Harbor calls for a 100 percent reduction in oxygen-consuming wastes emptied into the river near Augusta.
THE PROBLEM: Such a rule, if enforced, would increase wastewater treatment costs and limit development upstream, or require some industries to cease all such discharges. State authorities say the rule is unrealistic and unenforceable.
THE STRATEGY: Environmental regulators in both Georgia and South Carolina have drafted a series of proposals that would help improve oxygen levels without eliminating upstream wastewater discharges.
THE IMPACT: Improving oxygen levels downstream might require Augusta-area industries and municipal wastewater systems to invest in better sewage treatment technology as a condition of retaining or renewing their discharge permits. Such technology would increase costs.
WHAT'S NEXT: A public hearing on the proposals will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday, Aug. 14, at the Columbia County Government Center auditorium in Evans.
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