Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (CRK) has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Atlanta for its ongoing pollution of the Chattahoochee River.
In July, CRK sent a letter notifying city officials that they would have 60 days to stop discharging illegal levels of pollution from the R.M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center or the group would file a lawsuit in federal court for violations of the Clean Water Act. A 60-day notice of intent to sue is required under the Clean Water Act.
CRK is being represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) in the suit.
R.M. Clayton, the city’s largest wastewater treatment facility, is permitted to release up to 100 million gallons of treated wastewater per day into the Chattahoochee River. However, according to the lawsuit, the facility has been illegally discharging pollutants – including chemicals and harmful levels of bacteria – into the river in violation of both its wastewater discharge permit and the Clean Water Act.
In March 2024, CRK detected dangerously elevated levels of E. coli bacteria in the Chattahoochee River and traced the source to the R.M. Clayton facility’s outfall where wastewater is released into the river. Daily testing conducted by CRK at the outfall found E. coli levels were on average 340 times higher than the amount recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for safe water recreation.
CRK notified the City of Atlanta and Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) that the facility was discharging large amounts of E. coli and other pollutants into the river, threatening public health, wildlife, and the river’s ecosystem.
The City of Atlanta initially attributed the facility’s failure to both heavy rainfall and multiple discharges of illicit substances; however, an inspection conducted by Georgia EPD revealed a state of disrepair at the facility, with problems at all stages of wastewater treatment and numerous safety hazards.
Ongoing monitoring by CRK at the facility’s outfall has revealed sporadic spikes in E. coli, which can cause serious illness, especially in young children, the elderly, and the immunocompromised. CRK also found high levels of organic material, phosphorus, and ammonia in the facility’s discharge, which contribute to low dissolved oxygen levels in the river, causing stress to fish and other aquatic life.
In a complaint filed in federal court on Sept. 6, CRK notes that the city’s failure to adequately maintain and operate the R.M. Clayton facility has resulted in illegal discharges of pollutants into the Chattahoochee River for more than a year. The suit alleges that between July 2023 and July 2024, the facility violated its permit limitations at least 79 times.
“The City of Atlanta knows that the R.M. Clayton facility is failing and poses a serious threat to the health of the Chattahoochee River and all the people and wildlife who depend on it,” Jason Ulseth, CRK’s Riverkeeper and executive director., said in a media statement. “Yet the city has allowed operational and maintenance failures at the facility to compound over time, failing to follow through on even the most basic equipment repairs.”
“For months, the city has failed to alleviate very real public health and environmental concerns at the R.M. Clayton facility,” Hutton Brown, senior attorney in SELC’s Georgia office, said in the release. “Because Atlanta’s leadership did not step up and show they’re serious about fixing this problem, we had no choice but to step in and ask the court to hold them accountable.”
Rough Draft has reached out to the city for comment on the lawsuit. Please check back for updates on this developing story.