After Milton Complained, State Will Hold Hearing On Sewer Plant Slated For Cherokee

By DOUG NURSE The Atlanta Journal-Constitution http://www.ajc.com/

Milton residents' hostility to sewer does not end at the city limits.

Concerned about a proposed 2 million-gallon-per-day sewer plant planned in neighboring Cherokee County, Milton community leaders mounted an email and letter-writing campaign. They demanded that the state Environmental Protection Division conduct a public hearing before deciding whether to issue a permit for the plant.

After receiving 250 letters and emails, the state relented and scheduled a hearing for March 18 at 7 p.m. at Canton City Hall."Usually we don't hold hearings on draft permits," said David Bullard of the EDP Watershed Management Branch. "When we started getting letters asking us to hold a public hearing, we decided to do it."

Bullard said the hearing will focus on water quality issues, not zoning and land use questions. The latter, he said, should be addressed by the applicant, the Cherokee County Water and Sewage Authority or to the Cherokee County Commission.

Many Milton residents argue sewer brings density, which they say would detract from the community's country feel.

"This is a perfect example of where we need to be aware and involved in what happens at our borders to ensure this unique region maintains its rural character," City Councilwoman Julie Zahner Bailey wrote in a recent email to supporters. Zahner Bailey is a staunch opponent of sewer in Milton."If approved this could potentially bring sewer to our backdoor," she wrote. "In addition to the risk of sewer is the risk of high density development that will drive up traffic counts, increase storm water run-off and negatively impact our already impaired waterways within the Coosa [River] basin."

Zahner Bailey wrote that the concern is shared by Cherokee County residents as well.
"Many in Cherokee County believe that the introduction of sewer in rural areas may be detrimental to the infrastructure and to their way of life and do not want it brought to the northeastern area of Cherokee," she wrote.

The facility, called the Northeast Plant, has been in the works for about two years.
Tom Heard, general manager of the Cherokee County Water and Sewer Authority, was a little taken aback by Milton residents' desire to intervene in the permitting process with the state, especially considering that the plant will be in Ball Ground, 10 miles from Milton."I was a little surprised that Milton folks would do that," Heard said. "The closest the sewer would come is about five miles from the border. It's in the Etowah River Basin, and Milton is in the Little River Basin. There's a lot of misinformation out there, and it's being treated as gospel."

The plant is being built to treat sewage from the industrial I-575 corridor, as well as a 2,000-acre development and a 600-acre development.Heard said there are no plans to bring sewer near Milton.

He said if the state kills the Northeast Plant, then much of the county will develop on septic, which he said would be a bad thing."There's a huge amount of land yet to be developed in Cherokee County," Heard said. "If you look out 50 years, it would be bad for the environment because septic tanks fail. They don't have the same level of treatment as sewer. And they consume water and don't return it back to the river. Our goal is to return all of the water to the river."

Heard argued that sewer systems aren't necessarily incongruous with rural life.
"It doesn't have to lead to density," Heard said. "It's up to the city's master plan."