SUMMERVILLE, Ga. - A Georgia city, a textile manufacturer and others are being sued by a former Summerville, Georgia, city council member over a water crisis that forced Summerville to distribute bottled water for weeks and still could cost taxpayers millions.
On Jan. 31, Summerville residents were advised not to consume their tap water after cancer causing chemicals were discovered during a quality inspection done by the Environmental Protection District of Georgia.
Earl Parris, who served two years on the city council in the 1990s and again for four years ending in 2020, wants the people responsible for the contaminated water to cover the cost of a long-term solution, The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.
Parris’ lawsuit alleges the town of Trion’s Water Pollution Control Plant disposed sludge and biosolids in Raccoon Creek, which is the main source for Summerville’s water. It also alleges the company Mount Vernon Mills has discharged harmful chemicals into Trion’s plant that then entered Summerville’s water source.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, also names 3M, Daikin America, Huntsman International and Pulcra Chemicals, whose products are used at Mount Vernon Mills to "provide stain resistance and water resistance to its fabrics."
"As a taxpayer and water customer in Summerville, it’s not our responsibility and not our fault the water’s contaminated," Parris said. "Somebody’s at fault here. Nobody wants to take the blame, of course not."
Summerville Mayor Harry Harvey and City Administrator Janice Galloway did not return phone calls from the newspaper for comment. A call and voicemail to Mount Vernon’s office in Trion was not returned, and Trion city officials were not available for comment.
Parris is using the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act for the basis of his lawsuit. He mentioned several similar lawsuits against companies such as Dupont as inspirations to having companies be on the hook in such cases instead of residents.
"This whole lawsuit is in hopes that the city of Summerville gets a new reverse osmosis plant," Parris said. "That is the only type of plant that will remove" the chemicals.
The EPA notified city officials in January 2020 that water from Racoon Creek showed high levels of two human-made chemicals — perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid — which are used to make carpet, clothing fabric, cookware, paper, food packaging and other materials. The city has said the levels of both chemicals have not increased, but the EPA standards changed in 2016.
The water has been safe for most people to drink for months. The health advisory was mainly aimed at more vulnerable populations such as infants and pregnant women, according to the EPA.
Over the summer, city officials found that a test-well site on Highway 48 will be able to supply the amount of water needed to dilute the current supply and provide drinking water that will meet government standards. The goal for diluting the water is to have the threshold for the chemicals fall below 70 parts per trillion, which is the state standard.
Sarah Sprayberry, one of the local activists, wondered if that method went far enough to ensure people in Chattooga County will have clean and safe water to drink.
Parris also does not believe blending the water with cleaner water is a sufficient answer to the problem.
"We trust our city leaders, we believe in them," Parris said. "We vote for them to do the right thing and the right thing wasn’t happening. What they’re doing right now is nothing more than a Band-Aid."
Early estimations for the project and a long-term solution were between $1 million and $1.2 million. Now that number is closer to $3 million.
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