ATLANTA — A federal judge this week declined to block construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, denying a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit that alleges construction of the facility is violating the Clean Water Act.
Opponents of the training center, who call it "Cop City," brought the lawsuit last summer.
The lawsuit, filed by the South River Watershed Alliance, argues building the facility will violate the Clean Water Act "because stormwater discharges from the Atlanta Training Facility construction site were not in compliance with the general permit" allowing its construction.
"Sediment from the Atlanta Training Facility construction site is degrading the water quality and aquatic habitat," in the area, the suit asserts, and "lessening the aesthetic, scenic, and recreational values" of the site.
"Stormwater from the Atlanta Training Facility is discharged into a perennial tributary that originates on the construction site and flows into Intrenchment Creek," it further states. "Intrenchment Creek doesn’t meet water quality standards because sediment degrades habitat needed to support fish and macroinvertebrate populations."
Addressing those arguments, federal Judge J.P. Boulee said that the opponents had "brought evidence showing that sediment is being discharged into Intrenchment Creek, that excess sediment will cause harm to the aquatic species residing there and at least some evidence indicating that the sediment observed in the creek has been caused" by construction.
But, he added, the backers of the facility - which include the City of Atlanta and Atlanta Police Foundation - had provided their own evidence that they were complying with construction guidelines laid out in an agreement with DeKalb County, where it being built on a portion of the South River Forest.
The judge said their evidence showed the guidelines are preventing "the discharge of enough sediment to cause a water quality problem" as well as evidence "of construction site testing that indicates the (guidelines) are working as designed, and Defendants are not contributing excess sediment to the stream."
Judge Boulee said that given the evidence, he could not find at this time "that Plaintiff has presented enough evidence to prove there is a substantial likelihood that Defendants' construction of the facility is discharging enough sediment to interfere with Intrenchment Creek's designated use."
The project has previously cleared regulatory hurdles in DeKalb County and it has had funding approved by the Atlanta City Council. In an update provided by the City of Atlanta on Wednesday, the Mayor's Office said site development work is now 75% complete and they expect the facility to be completely constructed by December of this year.
The lawsuit is one element of the sprawling opposition against the center. That has included a large protest movement, a referendum drive to put the facility on the ballot in Atlanta, and more radical elements of the movement that allegedly have vandalized the construction site, set arson fires at Atlanta Police locations and damaged or burned equipment at construction companies tied to the center.
Those opposed to the training center have protested and organized against it for nearly two years, under a loose constellation of groups under the banners of "Stop Cop City" and "Defend the Atlanta Forest." A RICO indictment brought by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has charged over 60 people for their involvement with the “Defend the Atlanta Forest” movement, though what level of organization — if any — that might exist between various factions of activists under this umbrella is not clear.
The protest movement mushroomed following the Jan. 2021 law enforcement shooting death of Manuel Teran, known as Tortuguita, during a clearing operation of the forest encampments where protesters first started opposing the training center's construction.