Worried that

Line Creek isn't as healthy as it used to be, local environmental activists

are ready to call in the big guns if the city won't agree to have a neutral

party review environmental studies performed on the tributary.

Dennis Chase

of the Line Creek Association told the Peachtree City Council last week

that LCA is prepared to notify federal agencies such as the Environmental

Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service if the group's proposal is rebuffed.

"We want

to find out how sound that (watershed) assessment really is," Chase

said. "Our view is that there are very serious flaws in this document."

Chase said

LCA wants the information to be reviewed by an out-of-state professor

who specializes in such matters. If any irregularities are found, the

professor could issue certain recommendations for improving the situation,

Chase added.

The review

would likely cost around $1,000, and LCA would be willing to contribute

funds to that, Chase said.

Time is of

the essence since two impending projects could dramatically affect the

water quality in Line Creek, Chase said, including:

The county

water system's construction of Lake McIntosh as a water reservoir.

Peachtree

City increasing the amount of treated sewage it discharges into the creek

to 6 million gallons per day.

Dragging in

the federal agencies "would be a lengthy process" and could

delay both those projects, Chase warned. "That doesn't bode well

for any of us," he said.

The EPA alone

could request more information that could take a while to produce, Chase

said. And an endangered species study could take more time, he added.

Larry Turner,

general manager of the Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority, said

it will likely be another six months before the EPD is prepared to give

the city permits to increase the amount of sewage it can treat.

LCA wanted

to avoid funding the study fully so it wouldn't appear the results were

biased, Chase added.

Mayor Bob Lenox

said he wanted staff to consider the idea before council approved it.

He added that council also recently spent $130,000 for a watershed study

to do just what Chase is suggesting.

But one of

the disputes the LCA has about the city's watershed assessment is how

to interpret it. Chase explained that requirements of the Georgia Environmental

Protection Division are not as stringent as they should be.

The EPD wants

a proposed monitoring program to include water quality testing on a quarterly

basis instead of the twice-yearly tests proposed by the city. EPD also

has asked for recommendations to improve the existing watershed assessments

of the city and the county.

Councilwoman

Carol Fritz also questioned EPD's measures, saying that about eight studies

once said Line Creek was "impaired" but just one follow-up study

allowed EPD to remove that negative designation.

Fritz said

one of the original reasons the city had put Chase's independent study

idea on hold was that funds were being sought by scientists to conduct

a study in Peachtree City that would provide similar results. Now, however,

she supports the LCA position of getting an independent evaluation of

Line Creek "so we can better understand the issue."

Fritz said

the cost was very small consider the possible benefits it might bring.

Lenox said

he didn't mind spending the money, but he is wary of having to redo all

or parts of the watershed assessment because of the potential recommendations

from the independent professor who might review the documents.

Councilman

Robert Brooks said he understood the concerns were that the watershed

assessment was not as accurate as it needed to be.

Lenox instructed

City Manager Jim Basinger to meet with Chase to discuss his concerns and

report to council in the near future.

At a recent

LCA meeting, Chase expressed concern that water quality in Line

Creek could be deteriorating due to the shrinking number of aquatic organisms

found living in the water.

For example, in samples Chase took in September, he found

678 specimens at Line Creek near Highway 54. Further down the line, at

Rockaway Road, he found only 126 specimens.

"It's a very significant change between two habitats,"

Chase told the LCA.