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Proposed Lake Lanier Pollution Stopped by Georgia Supreme Court

Case Updates:

November 9, 2004

Victory is sweet after a four-year legal campaign to protect community health and water quality in Lake Lanier, Georgia. The legal case recently came to a close with a strong Georgia Supreme Court decision favoring stricter limits on pollution. The lawsuit arose out of a permit granted to Gwinnett County authorizing the daily discharge of 40 million gallons of treated sewage directly into the lake. The court ruled that the permit should not have been granted because the plant has existing technology to better treat the sewage and clean up their discharges. From now on, any entity in Georgia seeking a Clean Water Act permit must prove that they are fully using available technology to reduce pollution. This new precedent will affect future cases across the nation.

Details and Documents:

PDF of the November 23rd, 2004 decision is available on the Georgia Supreme Court Website

More Info:

See other "Safeguarding Communities" cases.


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