County to agree to 7.5-year sewer improvements plan, strict oversight following missed deadline

DeKalb County is preparing to enter into a new agreement with state and federal authorities on a plan to improve the county’s aged and flawed water and sewer system.  

The original consent decree—entered in 2011 with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GEPD) — requires the county to clean, repair, enlarge and maintain its sanitary sewer pipes. The county missed the June 2020 deadline resulting in a civil penalty of more than $1 million as part of a settlement to enter into a modified agreement. 

During a town hall meeting Oct. 19 regarding the consent decree, DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond said upon taking office in 2017, he inherited one of the county’s largest challenges.

“The most daunting challenge that we faced was a sanitary sewer system that was literally on the verge of collapse, a system that faced a prospect of federal and state moratoriums on growth and economic development,” said Thurmond. “I knew early on that our number one priority must be to repair, to replace and rebuild the system that upon which the quality of life in our county and economic growth and opportunity is pertinent.”

County staff cited mismanagement and frequent staff turnover that contributed to oversight issues of adhering to the consent decree. The county began a “Decade of Renewal” plan under Thurmond’s leadership in 2017 to begin addressing consent decree mandates. 

Prior to 2017, the county was spending an estimated $50-60 million per year on water and sewer infrastructure improvements. In 2017, the county spent an estimated $139 million on infrastructure improvements and has spent more than $200 million each year since.

In addition to maintenance of specific sewer areas, other related projects completed by the county include 133 miles of pipelining, 10 miles of pipe replacements and 35 miles of sewer pipe upsizing, said Maria Houser, director of Consent Decree Compliance.

According to Matt Welch, deputy county attorney, the new consent decree will require the county to have increased oversight and enhance reporting to the EPA, EPD and federal court.

The new consent decree includes a 7.5-year extension for the completion of rehabilitation projects in priority sewer areas.

“We feel that this is an aggressive but achievable time frame. The original consent decree gave an 8.5- or 9-year period to complete this work,” said Welch. “Through consultation with both in-house and consulting engineers, we’ve come up with a timeframe this aggressive and achievable. We want to make sure we can meet the goals that we are agreeing to.”

The proposed consent decree change also adds 103 sites, 47 of which are located in south DeKalb’s Snapfinger Basin and have recently been identified as repeat sites for sewer spills. Those sites are required to be addressed within four years, with requirements of a two-year and four-year update on work completed. 

“These are the repeat spill sites that some of you may have been hearing about in the news or might have become a concern because we’ve had more than one issue at some of these sites,” said Welch.

The new consent decree will also include additional stipulated penalties that cover more categories and are in a higher amount. 

Also included in the revised agreement is a Capacity Assurance Program which allows water and sewer connections to occur for new developments by giving “credits” for completed project phases.

“This is a great tool that incentivizes the county to put the dollars and the work into those areas where it is both most needed but also allows us to target and incentivize growth in those areas that need it the most,” said Welch. “If we meet our first two-year deadline, we will be able to retain less of those credits and give most of those credits to citizens and businesses that want to relocate or expand in DeKalb.”

Houser said the county will also consider other funding options for the projects including a $265 million EPA bond at a 1.44 percent interest rate and a Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) loan with a 1.55 percent interest rate for $50 million each. 

Those options, she said, are less costly than revenue bonds which the county has previously used.

Following the missed June 20 deadline, the county emailed a statement to The Champion stating plans to spend an additional $1.1 billion in water and sewer improvements over the next 10 years, noting the county’s current investments in 61 miles of sewer pipeline rehabilitation, the construction of three new lift stations, two lift stations converted to gravity flow, and rehabilitation of 10 other lift stations.