It's not known

yet whether Fayette County will appeal a Fulton County judge's decision

that Tyrone and Fairburn may continue with their sewerage agreement.

Once Judge

Constance Russell's order in the case is formally filed, county commissioners

and county attorneys will put their heads together and decide whether

to take the matter any further, assistant County Attorney Dennis Davenport

said this week.

But one Tyrone

town councilman can't believe the case has been carried this far.

"Our position

has been vindicated," said Councilman Paul Letourneau, "like

the county knew it would be before they filed this frivolous action. I

hope they're done costing the taxpayers money."

The case has

cost Tyrone "well over $6,000" in legal fees, Letourneau said.

Both Tyrone and Fairburn officials have signaled their intentions of suing

the county for their legal fees once the case is finished.

Judge Russell

late Friday afternoon ruled against the county's request for an injunction

to halt the two cities' agreement. Under the agreement, Tyrone will buy

$250,000 gallons a day of sewerage capacity from Fairburn and use it to

serve John Wieland Homes' Southampton subdivision, under construction

in the Fayette town.

Fayette has

argued that, because the connecting sewer line runs through a portion

of unincorporated Fayette, the county must give its permission before

such an agreement can take place. County commissioners have made it clear

they would not give such permission, because they fear the presence of

the sewer line will spark high-density development in the area.

"The issue

turns on one word," said Russell. "In order for Fayette County

to prevail, it must be affected. ... Fayette County is not affected by

the creation of this sewer line."

The county's

fears about high-density development are ungrounded, she said. "Tyrone

cannot change the zoning in the unincorporated portion of Fayette County,"

she said. Only the county could do that, she added.

Russell earlier

denied a temporary injunction, and offered lawyers on both sides a chance

to argue the case in a final showdown Jan. 8. They did so, and Russell

then told the lawyers to return to court Friday for her final answer.

In his arguments,

assistant Fayette County Attorney Dennis Davenport said Wieland could

build a small sewer plant just for the subdivision. Lawyers for Tyrone

and Wieland argued that the subdivision is in a sensitive area environmentally,

so a spray application sewer plant there is not a good option.

He also argued

that, because Fairburn would be treating the sewage, the city would be

providing the sewer service. Since the city's charter doesn't allow it

to provide sewer service outside its borders, that would be illegal, Davenport

argued.

But Russell

agreed with lawyers for the defendants, who argued that, because Tyrone

will own the collection system for the sewage as well as the line connecting

it to Fairburn's system, Tyrone will be the provider of sewerage.

"This

is a victory for Tyrone and Fairburn," said Tyrone Councilman Ronnie

Cannon following the ruling, "but it's also a victory for the people

affected by Line Creek and the damage it would suffer" if the Southampton

subdivision were forced to use a private sewer system.

"We're

just pleased that we can now get down to the engineering and construction

part of it," said Fairburn City Manager Tony Cox. He said the line

from Tyrone is ready to hook up, and construction of the treatment plant

is "at least on schedule if not ahead."