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."

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