City of Cumming Caught Polluting Lake Lanier

Stacey Shelton at the AJC is reporting tha the nonprofit environmental organization "Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper" has caught the city of Cumming breaking clean water laws.

The city is looking to build an aquatic center, and during the search they apparently bulldozed through a stream near Lake Lanier on Pilgrim Mill Road. The UCR called in inspectors from Georgia Environmental Protection Division who confirmed that the construction activity was sending mud and silt into Lake Lanier.

The GEPD has sent a draft enforcement order to the city. Such processes often end in fines. The order outlined numerous violations of state and federal statutes that he said carry a fine of up to $32,500 per day for each violation.

AJC.com quotes the UCR Executive Director Sally Bethea as saying:

“The fact that it’s a local government that’s causing it is even more disturbing because they are administering and enforcing Clean Water laws,”

The UCR is reserving the right to file a civil suit against the city if it believes the state response is inadequate.