Judge rules against environmental group’s attempt to stop construction of police training facility

A federal judge ruled this week against an environmental group trying to stop the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, claiming the city violated the Clean Water Act.

The South River Watershed Alliance alleged in its lawsuit against the city and Atlanta Police Foundation that “stormwater discharges from the Atlanta Training Facility construction site were not in compliance with the general permit,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The lawsuit was filed in August in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

The organization claims construction of the complex, called “Cop City” by opponents, was causing sediment, a pollutant, to flow into Intrenchment Creek. The group said it is “concerned that sediment from the Atlanta Training Facility construction site is degrading the water quality and aquatic habitat in Intrenchment Creek and lessening the aesthetic, scenic, and recreational values of this area.”

The 85-acre training center site located off Key Road in the South River Forest is located inside DeKalb County but the property is owned by the City of Atlanta.

The South River Watershed Alliance also alleges that if the training center construction is not halted, “[T]ons of sediment will be discharged into Intrenchment Creek, causing ‘serious and irreversible harm to native fish” and other wildlife.

But U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee wrote in his Jan. 16 ruling that the city and APF provided evidence to show they comply with best management practices that prevent the discharge of enough sediment to cause a water quality problem.

“As a result, the Court cannot find—at this stage of the proceedings—that Plaintiff has presented enough evidence to prove there is a substantial likelihood that Defendants’ construction of the Facility is discharging enough sediment to interfere with Intrenchment Creek’s designated use (and thereby violate Georgia’s water quality standards),” Boulee wrote.

“At least at this stage of the case, Plaintiff has not provided enough evidence to warrant the ‘extraordinary and drastic remedy'” of halting construction, Boulee wrote. 

In February 2023, the South River Watershed Alliance, DeKalb County Commissioner Ted Terry and DeKalb resident Amy Taylor tried to stop construction of the complex, known as “Cop City” by opponents, by also challenging land development permits and citing environmental concerns. A Fulton judge ruled against them.

At the Atlanta City Council’s Jan. 17 finance committee meeting, Deputy Chief Operating Officer LaChandra Burkes told members about the ruling in favor of the city as part of an update of the training center’s progress and costs. She said this was the South River Watershed Alliance’s fourth attempt to stop construction of the training center.

Burkes said the city committed $227,000 for additional erosion controls and inspections.

The city is also fighting a court battle in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to deny a citizen-led petition seeking to put the fate of the training center up to a public vote. That decision could come in the next couple weeks.

City attorney Amber Robinson told the finance committee that the city has hired two outside legal firms to fight the lawsuits from the South River Watershed Alliance and the Vote to Stop Cop City coalition. As of December, the city’s legal bill totals more than $1.1 million, she said.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Rough Draft Atlanta.