EPD Explains Next Steps In Wilbros Situation

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division said that its 2014 administrative order is now in full effect against the Wilbros facility in Toccoa.

Last week, Wilbros withdrew its appeal in Fulton County Superior Court of the EPD administrative order and the ruling by a state administrative law judge upholding that order.

As a result, Wilbros has lost its EPD permits for both solid waste and waste water, which affects the composting and the waste water treatment operations that had been taking place at Wilbros’ Rose Lane facility.

Georgia EPD Director of Compliance Bert Langley said that the administrative order puts into motion a number of different things.

Langley said it requires Wilbros to close down its compost pad.

“They have made a lot of progress on that already,” said Langley. “I think the weather has kind of slowed some of that down. Basically, they will be moving all of the compost material, cleaning the pad, and redirecting the stormwater.”

Also, Langley said the administrative order also affects Wilbros’ wastewater treatment plant operation.

“They are not allowed to accept any waste in to the waste water plant per the order,” said Langley. “We have allowed them to continue to accept the domestic waste from Coats and Clark during this period and they are injecting some nutrients they purchase into the plant to keep it alive.”

Langley said the agency did not feel it was in anyone’s best interests to just immediately force the whole waste water treatment plant to be shut down and dismantled.

As a result, Langley said the EPD is giving Wilbros time to re-purpose the facility in whatever way is necessary

“Either sell or get a tenant in who may need that plant,” said Langley. “That is a several-million dollar investment to completely remove and dismantle. We have agreed to allow them some period of time to do that.”

Langley did not give a specific time frame for that to take place, but said that if in the end, it did not get re-purposed, the plant would be shut down completely.

In addition, Langley said the administrative order requires Wilbros to cease receiving waste and make sure all waste is removed from the Rose Lane facility.

According to Langley, that was already being done, but will be followed up on by the EPD.

Langley said that the EPD is in the process of setting up regular inspections to ensure that Wilbros is meeting the guidelines set forth in the administrative order.

He did note that the order and the closure plans being followed by Wilbros only apply to those operations taking place on site permitted by the EPD.

Langley said that Wilbros does operate several other things out of that facility not associated with the waste material so there will still be truck traffic in and out of the facility pretty regularly

The EPD issued the administrative order revoking Wilbros’ solid waste and waste water permits in January 2014 as the agency accused the facility of numerous permit violations and an administrative law judge upheld the EPD’s order earlier this year.

Wilbros is also at the center of a years-long controversy over odor coming from the facility associated with its operations and has been sued by Stephens County government and other entities over it.

Stephens County Attorney Brian Ranck said that civil suit is still moving forward at this time.