ATLANTA — The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, has officially filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Atlanta over clean water concerns.
Back in July, the Riverkeeper threatened a lawsuit if the issues weren't resolved within 60 days. Chattahoochee Riverkeeper CEO Jason Ulseth previously told 11Alive that the problems started at the RM Clayton Facility in Atlanta and extended about 60 miles south down the river.
According to a news release from the Riverkeeper, a complaint was filed on Sept. 6 against the City of Atlanta for violating the Clean Water Act in connection to the ongoing pollution of the Chattahoochee River. The Riverkeeper said it's seeking an injunction to prohibit further violations of the city's wastewater permit, as well as civil penalties, attorneys' fees and costs.
The Riverkeeper accuses the city of continuing to fail to adequately maintain and operate the RM Clayton facility, Atlanta’s largest wastewater treatment facility.
"R.M. Clayton is permitted to release up to 100 million gallons of treated wastewater per day into the Chattahoochee River, but 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," the release states.
According to data from the Riverkeeper, E. coli levels were about 340 times the federal Environmental Protection Agency's standards for water recreation in March.
The Riverkeeper also alleges that the facility illegally discharged pollutants into the Chattahoochee River for more than a year. Between July 2023 and July 2024, the Riverkeeper accuses the facility of violating 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,” Ulseth added. “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.”
Over the last year, officials have warned to avoid a stretch of the Chattahoochee River due to high E. Coli levels, which can make people physically sick and have devastating wildlife impacts on the river.
“For months, the city has failed to alleviate very real public health and environmental concerns at the R.M. Clayton facility," Southern Environmental Law Center Senior Attorney Hutton Brown said. “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.”
To read the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper's full press release, click here.