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Sex offenders study the changing law
• Local officers hear the concerns
of area's registered offenders and
the communities where they work,
live and, in some cases, raise families
By Jessica Newberry
Intern
Over a month after Georgia’s new
sex offender laws were passed, law
enforcement agencies across the state
are still working to meet the requirements
of House Bill 1059.
“We know what the intent of the
law was,” said Lieutenant Robert
Chalker of the Jefferson County
Sheriff’s Offi ce (JCSO), “but it is
extremely general at this point.”
The laws, effective July 1, have
created a statewide debate over their
interpretation as well as a class action
lawsuit involving every sex
offender in the state. In addition to
the severe limitations the laws place
on where an offender can work and
reside, many are also concerned
about the new classifi cations for sex
offenders.
“Some of these guys were convicted
of statutory rape, but, under this
law, they are thrown into the same pot
with everybody else,” Chalker said.
“We don’t have a choice but to treat
them all the same way.”
Registration for life is required of
all convicted sex offenders unless
they were convicted of a misdemeanor
or adjudicated in juvenile
court. This registration must occur
with the local sheriff’s offi ce within
72 hours of their birth date or a
change of residence, a significant
reduction from the original 10-day
time requirement.
In an effort to increase understanding
of the laws, JCSO representatives
held a meeting for all Jefferson County
sex offenders to go over requirements
and answer questions.
“We had a good turnout, and we
answered questions and listened
to their complaints,” Chalker said.
“We really just want them to maintain
communication with us and use
common sense.”
The law states that sex offenders
cannot loiter within 1,000 feet of a
child care facility, school, church or
any other area where minors congregate,
including school bus stops,
public and private park and recreation
facilities, playgrounds, skating rinks,
neighborhood centers, gymnasiums
and public and community swimming
pools.
“They have been worried about
whether they can attend their children’s
ball games and whether they can still attend
church,” Chalker said. “We think that
neither one is considered loitering, so it’s
all right. Loitering and worshipping are
two different things, and the law doesn’t
define either.”
Offenders are also not allowed to work
within 1,000 feet of a day care, school
or church.
However, there are no specifications as
to how the measurements are to be made
which is leading to confusion about where
offenders can and cannot live. Offenders
are also unable to reside in any hotel that
has a public pool while trying to find a
permanent place to live.
Since July 1, two offenders from outside
the county have moved in because
of the new requirements, both from
Richmond County. Jefferson County
currently has 36 sex offenders, several
of which have already moved due to the
restrictions. Others will probably have to
relocate but cannot do so until current bus
routes have been established the Jefferson
County Board of Education, according to
Chalker.
Probation and parole officers of the
offenders will help them find new residences
and submit these for approval by
the JCSO.
The JCSO is also currently in the
process of supplying every school, city
hall and the county commissioners’ office
with an updated notebook containing the
names, addresses and photos of every sex
offender in the county. Every notebook
will be updated within 72 hours of change
in information for any sex offender.
According to the new law, a website
containing identical information must
be maintained by the JCSO and must be
updated within 48 hours of any informational
changes.
“We are in the process of getting this
website designed and in place, but there
was no money allocated for this purpose
in the current budget so we’re doing the
best we can,” Chalker said. “Fewer than
50 of Georgia’s 159 county sheriff’s of-
fices currently have their websites up and
running.”
Chalker and representatives from the
JCSO will be attended a two-day Georgia
Sheriff’s Association Conference in late
August to learn about how the new laws
should be enforced.
“We have questions that need to be
addressed, and we are hoping to learn
from how other counties are handling
this,” Chalker said.
EPD approves
Columbia Co.
sludge for
area hay farm
• Citizens remain
concerned about
the effects of
biosolids despite
EPD mandated
precautions such as
increased buffers
and rate reductions
By Jessica Newberry
Intern
Despite much objection from Jefferson
County citizens, the Georgia
Environmental Protection Division
(EPD) has once again permitted the
Hudson Farm property to receive land
applications of biosolids.
On July 10, the proposed Columbia
County Sludge Management Plan
(SMP) was approved by EPD with
comprehensive, five-year permits
for the operation of four wastewater
treatment plants: Reed Creek,
Crawford Creek, Little River and
Kiokee Creek. A section of this plan
addresses the management and land
application of the biosolids, or sludge,
produced by these facilities.
The Hudson property, located on
Horseshoe Road northwest of Louisville,
has been approved for land application
over 385.5 acres or 8 fi elds
and uses the sludge as a nitrogen
supplement for grass fi elds.
Because of its close proximity to
Rocky Comfort Creek and various
other concerns specifi c to the site,
the permit recently issued by EPD
has been modifi ed to include special
conditions for application to and
monitoring of the site.
These conditions include the installation
and monitoring of groundwater
monitoring wells, collection
of baseline groundwater quality data
prior to land application, a 25-percent
reduction of the biosolids application
rate below the agronomic rate and the
exclusion of the property’s closed depressions
from application as well as
a 100-foot buffer zone around each
depression.
“The 25-percent reduction is enforced
across the state in areas where
site geology indicates a groundwater
recharge area,” said Rachel Cochran,
an environmental specialist in the
Permitting, Compliance and Enforcement
Program of EPD’s Watershed
Protection Branch. “The buffer areas
are put in place on a case-by-case basis,
and they are more stringent in this
area due to the presence of areas with
a geologic possibility to hold water.
The buffers will serve as a safety factor
to prevent potential run-off into
these areas.”
Despite these precautions, local
citizens remain concerned about
the effects of these biosolids on the
environment, especially due to the
location of the site over an aquifer
recharge area which supplies water
to residents of southern Georgia and
northern Florida.
“We continue to assert that it is
unwise to land apply minimally
treated human and industrial sewage
over areas that supply our drinking
water,” said riverkeeper and executive
director Chandra Brown of the
Ogeechee Canoochee Riverkeepers
(OCRK). “However, the Columbia
County Sludge Management Plan
is one of the fi rst plans in Georgia
to require groundwater monitoring.
This concession is certainly a minimal
safeguard to protect people’s
drinking water, and we will monitor
the reports to make sure that the land
application is not negatively impacting
streams and groundwater.”
The decision to issue permitting
for the Hudson site
came after consideration by
EPD of public comments
received during the July 28,
2005, public hearing and
public comment period.
A significant concern for
local citizens is the monitoring
of surface water and
groundwater. Under EPD
land application guidelines,
the minimum buffer distance
from a site to surface water is
50 feet, and all Hudson Farm
sites are at least 1,000 feet
from Rocky Comfort Creek.
A shallow groundwater-monitoring
well network has been
installed on the property and
will be monitored quarterly
nitrate-nitrogen and general
water quality parameters and
annually for heavy metals.
Sludge monitoring will also
be done at each individual
wastewater treatment facility
that will supply sludge to the
site. Because there are no permitted
industries discharging
into the two facilities and due
to current sludge production
rates, Crawford Creek and
Kiokee Creek will be monitored
annually while Reed
Creek and Little River will be
monitored quarterly.
However, the OCRK is still
seeking additional protection
from local government in an
effort to preserve the environment
and the aquifer recharge
area.
“Until the state of Georgia
adopts regulations to protect
our drinking water, it is up
to the citizens of Jefferson
County to encourage the
county commissioners to protect
their community,” Brown
said. “The commissioners can
adopt a local
o r d i n a n c e
that regulates
where and
how human
sewage can
be dumped
in the county.
OCRK has
provided a
model ordinance
to the
county commissioners
that has been
adopted in
neighboring
communities.
The commissioners’
recent
decision
on the Forstmann
site
shows their
commitment
to preserving
their community
and its
resources for
future generations.
I hope that they will take
the added step of adopting an
ordinance that puts the commissioners
and the citizens
in the driver’s seat when it
comes to importing waste in
the county.”
The Hudson Farm site was
first permitted for land application
of sludge in August
2000 through an
SMP for the City
of Augusta. This
permit allowed
for the application
of biosolids
from the Messerley
wastewater
treatment plant
in Augusta over
558 acres. During
2000 and
2001, the City of
Augusta land applied
18 dry tons
of biosolids on
four fields of the
Hudson property.
Augusta will
retain one of the
fields, located
west of Columbia
County fields
three and four,
which is not
included in the
Columbia County
SMP. Before
land application
begins by Columbia
County, EPD requires
the City of Augusta to amend
its SMP to exclude the remaining
fields it will not be using.
Amendment to the SMP will
involve public notification and
a 30-day comment period.
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