Documented at several points in our Series on Lake Petit Dam, Big Canoe’s POA Board and Management have refused to respond to property owner requests for documentation regarding Safety and Engineering Studies related to the Dam. Recently the GM, Scott Auer, once again refused to provide Property Owners a copy of the recent 25 Pg Geosyntec Study. What has happened since then is concerning.
FOBC put in a Jan. 31 Open Records Request (“ORR”) to the Georgia Safe Dams program to see if they had a copy of the recent Geosyntec study. Ga. Safe Dams responded in an email dated February 4 with the following statements:
Regarding #3, EPD has not received a Geosyntec Report from the “latter part of 2020.”
Finally, regarding any correspondence since your last open records request, a letter from EPD to the Big Canoe POA is attached.
There are several things to unpack here. The most obvious is that Georgia Safe Dams has not been provided a copy of the recent 25 Pg Geosyntec Report – even though Ga Safe Dams has instructed them to do so, as seen in the attached November 6 2020 “letter from EPD to the Big Canoe POA“, which contained the following:
The Safe Dams Program staff will be conducting a quality assurance inspection of the subject dam for fiscal year 2021. The dam inspection is scheduled for between January and March 2021. Please remember that these inspections are meant to supplement regular inspections performed by the owner of the dam and are for the purpose of checking that the dam is in compliance.
Please send a copy of your own inspection records from the past year to the address at the top of this letter.
Point #1 – GM Scott Auer and the Board have been all over this dam(n) [sic] thing in the past several months, publicly spinning and cheerleading the marvelous condition of our dam. Never once have they mentioned that a compliance inspection has been scheduled by the state. Doesn’t that seem like pertinent information that should have been shared?
Point #2 – Not only is Big Canoe POA / Management refusing to transparently release inspection reports to the property owners, they are clearly not complying with requests from Safe Dams personnel either. They were told in early November to provide the inspection reports. My Open records requests, current as of February 6th, show that NO INSPECTION REPORTS OF ANY KIND have been provided to Safe Dams since March of last year. Not the quarterly inspections. Not the recent Geosyntec Engineering Inspection. Even though the state told them 3 months ago to “Please send a copy of your own inspection records from the past year”.
It is extremely disturbing that the POA is refusing to comply with direct information requests from Ga Safe Dams. My guess is that they are aware that once submitted, these documents become public record, and they are doing everything they can (including blatant and open refusal to comply with regulatory requests) in order to keep the true extent of the problems from property owners.
What is in the 25 Page Geosyntec Report? What have the most recent inspections revealed as to water levels in the dam, drain systems, seepage, etc? Why can’t property owners view these documents? Why won’t they provide them to Safe Dams?
One hopes that the POA realizes that if it cannot meet its Permit Obligations to ensure safe operation of the Lake Petit Dam, and continues to refuse to meet even its minimum reporting requirements, Ga Safe Dams has the option to revoke the POA’s Permit to Operate Lake Petit Dam*, an option that they have invoked in the past in even smaller and less hazardous dams. The POA appears to be treating their responsibilities as a game of chicken with regulators, as well as playing fast and loose with safety concerns that could negatively impact all of Big Canoe, and much of the surrounding region.
* Please Note Requirement #3 on Pg 2 of Permit Conditions. Also 6(i) & (j). These compliance failures regarding inspections and reporting are in addition to the POA’s failure to maintain and test the lower lake drain, and of the overall failure of the Dam to meet minimum Seismic Requirements.
Immediate, Full and Complete Transparency is needed. Immediate compliance with Ga Safe Dams requests for information should be demanded, and enforced. Property Owners (and regional residents also) should be granted full access to the most recent report and inspection data.
Concerned Citizens are encouraged to write the Governor to demand oversite of this situation.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp
Office of the Governor
206 Washington Street
111 State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334
(404)656-1776
georgia.governor@gov.state.ga.us
cc: Governor Top Staff
caylee.noggle@georgia.gov, bert.brantley@georgia.gov, lauren.curry@georgia.gov, cody.hall@georgia.gov, tate.mitchell@georgia.gov,
cc: EPD Top Staff
askEPD@gaepd.org, james.capp@dnr.ga.gov, anna.truszczynski@dnr.ga.gov, arnettia.murphy@dnr.ga.gov, lewis.hays@dnr.ga.gov, jennifer.welte@dnr.ga.gov, tom.woosley@dnr.ga.gov, james.cooley@dnr.ga.gov, john.maddox@dnr.ga.gov
Peace,
– david / publisher
Focus on Big Canoe, GA
* a publication of The Mountains Voice
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