Georgia News(Week 6)-Sewage Treatment Mess

A requirement that would have forced communites to build expensive and new sewage treatment plants was eliminated by the state Board of Natural Resources, according to a recent article. The requirement in question reaches back to 1973, requiring that "new sewage treatment plants were supposed to sanitize wastewater using the 'highest and best practicable' technology." This requirement was brought back into the forefront due to a recent Supreme Court case involving Gwinnett county's push for a $750 million sweage treatment plant. The aforementioned regulation would actually hinder the plant's attempt at the "highest and best treatment of the wastewater," thus leading to the recent change in state wastewater rules. Communities other than Gwinnett, however, are also involved, as they too have high hopes for future wastewater management, and must wait to see how the newly implemented plans will affect their own proposals. I find this article interesting, as I rarely see any controversy or uproar concerning wastewater disposal. This is an important issue, however, as improper disposal of wastewater can have serious consequences for the surrounding areas, thus making this issue an even bigger one.

Link: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/26waterrules.html