The Ogeechee Riverkeeper organization is considering legal action against the Georgia Environmental Protection Division due to possible lack of enforcement regarding wastewater dumped into the Ogeechee River by a Screven County textiles plant.
      Attention was drawn to the plant in May after an extensive fish kill that covered about 70 miles of the river south of the King America Finishing, a textiles treatment plant in Dover. According to the state EPD agency, tests proved the more than 36,000 fish died of columnaris, a bacterial disease caused by environmental stress.
      Ogeechee Riverkeeper Dianna Wedincamp said tests of river water samples taken by her group near the plant prove the presence of formaldehyde, sodium hydroxide (lye) and other caustic chemicals. The chemicals are more likely the cause of the environmental stress, she said. She said the chemicals come from the plant's discharge, which a Department of Natural Resources ranger and she traced the source to the King America outfall pipe.
      Wedincamp said Friday she and other members of the organization, as well as others interested in the river, are concerned that King America is "discharging things not listed in their (EPD-issued) permit," she said.
      The effluent discharged from King America's pipe, which extends directly into the Ogeechee River, often has a dark, blue-black color that stains the water, the sediment, river banks and sandbars and other things in the river, she said. "That's unacceptable."
      According to a copy of King America's current permit, issued in 2000 and extended several times by the EPD, there are no limit requirements for color, but the plant must test for chromium, phenols, sulfide, total suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, and chemical oxygen demand as well as Ph level.
      But there is nothing listed in the permit that allows discharge of chemicals such as formaldehyde, sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide, and other chemicals found in water samples taken from the river near the outfall pipe, she said.
      "The EPD does not really know what they (King America) are discharging," she said. "They have changed processes at the plant and have not notified authorities."
      Messages to EPD spokesman Kevin Chambers Friday regarding King America's permit, including its expiration date, were not immediately returned.
      The permit clearly states that should the effluent change, King America is to report the change to Georgia EPD. Phone calls to King America CEO Mike Beasley regarding the issue were not returned.

Possible lawsuit
      Wedincamp said she and Ogeechee Riverkeeper board members are discussing a plan of action regarding a possible lawsuit. Additional details, including whether legal action would be taken against the EPD, King America and the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be made public later, possibly next week, she said.
      There are a lot of concerns about the way the fish kill investigation is being handled, she said. The large amounts of dead fish were reported on a Friday, but state officials did not issue warnings and bans on swimming and fishing until late the following Sunday, after possibly thousands of people fished, swam, boated and camped in and along the river that weekend.
      Following the fish kill, people reported illness including rashes and sores, nausea and diarrhea, as well as respiratory problems. One of three men who have filed a class action suit against the plant reported severe respiratory illness after swimming in the river.
      Wedincamp questions the EPD's response, as well as why the agency has not called for a halt in the plant's discharge of polluted water into the river.
      The plant's current permit, which she said expires in 2012, states the plant must comply with state and federal mandates and "may not discharge toxic pollutants in concentrations or combinations that are harmful to humans, animals or aquatic life."
      Wedincamp said tests back in May showed extremely high levels of various chemicals not naturally found in the river, and are used in the textiles treatment process.
      If toxins are suspected, permit holders must conduct further tests and evaluations and "the permittee must eliminate effluent toxicity and supply the EPD with data and evidence to confirm toxicity elimination," according to the permit.

Legislators seek answers
      Wedincamp said she and many others want answers regarding the contents of the plant's discharge and its suspected effect on the river. Local legislators are concerned about the river as well. Citizens have demanded action regarding an ongoing investigation by the EPD into possible violations by King America, but there is little that lawmakers can do about the investigation.
      EPD officials said since the investigation is ongoing, it can't comment on its status.
      State Rep. Jan Tankersley said she is frustrated because she would like to see the Ogeechee become a pristine, healthy river once more. However, as a legislator, she said that while she can work towards changing laws to better protect the river, she cannot control the EPD's actions.
      "It's frustrating for legislators because we have no control or authority," she said. "I don't know that we could make it happen any faster."
      Both she and State Sen. Jack Hill said they keep regular contact with EPD Director Allen Barnes, who explained to them both that neither he nor anyone else can discuss the investigation because it is "enforcement confidential."
      Barnes told Hill "a week or two ago that they are undergoing an in-depth investigation ... trying to get to the bottom of it. They are doing what we want them to do."
      He said he hopes to have a called meeting with other legislators and EPD, DNR and EPA officials regarding the investigation and concerns about the river.
      Tankersley and Hill both said they plan to address environmental issues in the legislature in the future, possibly looking into changing the status of the river from fishing to recreational, but those changes will take time, he said.

Past violations
      King America Finishing has received citations from the EPD in the past regarding problems with effluent, including chemical spills that altered the river's Ph, according to copies of communication between EPD officials and King America leaders, provided to the Statesboro Herald by Wedincamp.
      The plant also was cited for improper reporting of samples taken.
      The information provided by Wedincamp also included information about a 2007 complaint from two DNR rangers regarding an "extremely black plume of water" coming from the plant's discharge pipe, that one ranger said had a strong odor in the report.
      When Wedincamp and others photographed and videotaped a similar black plume of liquid Saturday, July 16, there was no unusual odor, she said.
      During that time, according to the documented information she provided, EPD officials encountered trouble immediately reaching a King America emergency contact.
      Wedincamp said she and others are also concerned about the fact that during the May fish kill, it was more than 24 hours before anyone from the plant returned calls placed by EPD officials to King America's emergency contact number.
      Results from tests of water samples taken July 16 are not complete, she said. Ogeechee Riverkeeper board members are reviewing data they currently have and will decide soon on a course of action pursue, she said.

Holli Deal Bragg may be reached at (912) 489-9414.