![\"Photo:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1c3ec60c-d8c0-41aa-8118-2e5293d1f356-mclemorecreeklake.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\nWALKER COUNTY, Ga. \u2014 Walker County residents are raising questions after a consent order from the state of Georgia reveals hundreds of wastewater violations linked to a facility operated by McLemore Resort.<\/p>\n
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division says the violations occurred at the McLemore Water Reclamation facility in Rising Fawn.<\/p>\n
A Georgia Environmental Protection Division report shows approximately 60,000 gallons of raw sewage from the McLemore Sewage System spilled into Mill Creek near Tatum Road during a three-day period between Oct. 27 and Oct. 29, 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe spill was corrected with numerous measurements put in place according to Georgia regulations,\u201d the resort said in a statement.<\/p>\n
McLemore added that sewer issues are complex and that it is \u201cnot alone in these challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n
They told our newsroom that problem came from an \u201cunforeseen electrical failure.”<\/p>\n
“The spillage was described in the state record as \u201cnot preventable\u201d due to the fact that it was caused by an unforeseen electrical failure, which lasted for 48 hours. Immediately, upon discovery of the failure, controls were replaced swiftly and made functional. <\/p>\n
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s consent order shows the sewage spill was one of several issues cited by regulators.<\/p>\n
According to the order, inspectors documented 112 permit violations between April 2022 and February 2026 involving wastewater treatment and permit compliance. The violations included repeated exceedances of permitted levels for biochemical oxygen demand, fecal coliform bacteria, turbidity, total suspended solids and wastewater flow.<\/p>\n
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources order also shows that when state inspectors visited the facility they saw it was \u201cshort circuiting in every access of the treatment process due to heavy flow coming to the facility from the hotel\u201d<\/p>\n
Davis Ozier with Integrated Science & Engineering, Inc. says in a statement:<\/p>\n
“Following the spill, stream sampling taken upstream and downstream of the spill location was performed, as required by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. The stream monitoring period extends for a year. The sampling thus far has showed a negligible increase to the baseline fecal coliform present in the natural stream. Fecal coliforms serve as an indicator of other harmful bacteria that may be present in water, but are not typically harmful themselves. Given the relatively low fecal coliform counts in the sampled stream water, the sewerage spill posed very little health risk to downstream residents and users. Furthermore, the spill’s direct long-term impact on the stream was negligible, as supported by on-going stream sampling.”<\/p>\n
The consent order also says McLemore failed to begin a planned wastewater treatment plant expansion by the date outlined in a previously approved corrective action plan and did not submit a permit renewal application by the required deadline.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s important to note that McLemore Sewer Inc. inherited the outdated equipment and compliance issues from the previous owner of the sewer treatment plant. The McLemore Sewer board is in the process of modernizing sewer capabilities. The first permits in this process have been accepted,” McLemore officials tell us.<\/p>\n
But residents who spoke with NewsChannel 9 say their biggest concern is not only the 2025 spill itself, but how it happened and what it could mean for Mill Creek in the future.<\/p>\n
Chickamauga resident Melissa Hulsey tells us…<\/p>\n
“There’s families that live along Chickamauga Creek, right? I mean, they have cattle, they have livestock, they have horses that drink out of this creek.”<\/p>\n
As part of the consent agreement, the Environmental Protection Division ordered McLemore to submit an updated corrective action plan within 30 days and complete improvements within 36 months.<\/p>\n
The order also immediately places a moratorium on new construction at McLemore Resort, including residential units, employee housing, event lawns, pools, sporting facilities, golf courses and hotel expansion, until regulators determine the wastewater system can handle additional flow without short-circuiting the treatment process.<\/p>\n
The consent order allows McLemore to offset part or all of a stipulated civil penalty of $111,875 by paying for approved corrective actions.<\/p>\n
Husley says she just hopes for more transparency moving forward…<\/p>\n
“Let’s just address that and be honest and let’s move forward in a way that is safe for everyone.”<\/p>\n
Depend on us to keep you posted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WALKER COUNTY, Ga. \u2014 Walker County residents are raising questions after a consent order from the state of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":739949,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-739948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=739948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/739949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=739948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=739948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=739948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}