ATHENS - The state Environmental Protection Division has fined Athens-Clarke County government $31,850 for a series of sewage spills in 2001. <br>
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Much of the fine is for a July 25 spill, when a massive rainfall of more than six inches overloaded the city's sewage treatment plant on Bailey Street. <br>
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The plant released 1.3 million gallons into the North Oconee River about 20 percent of it sewage. Workers managed to chlorinate the water before releasing it into the river but could not complete the disinfection process. <br>
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``There were some extenuating circumstances, but it's still an unpermitted discharge,'' said Bill Noell of the EPD's Water Protection Branch. <br>
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Athens-Clarke also had 19 other releases between February and October, from as little as 500 gallons to single spills of 12,000 gallons and 50,000 gallons, Noell said. <br>
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Anything more than 10,000 gallons is considered a major spill, according to the state. Last year, a larger spill in Gainesville came in at 2 million when a private property owner ran over a manhole with a piece of heavy equipment, collapsing a sewer line. <br>
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Most spills are caused by clogged lines, said Athens-Clarke Public Utilities Director Gary Duck. The county has taken steps to reduce spills such as replacing old sewer lines and securing crews to look for clogs and clear them up.
