DeKalb has extended its contract with a former district attorney for consulting related to the county’s ongoing efforts to rehabilitate its aging sewer system, despite pushback from some elected officials.
Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming, also a former regional administrator for the federal Environmental Protection Agency, has consulted for CEO Michael Thurmond's office since 2017. Her work focuses on the 2010 agreement the county made with the EPA and Georgia's Environmental Protection Division, intended to reduce the number of sewer spills in the county and stop pollution entering local waterways.
Thurmond has acknowledged that the county will not meet the 2020 deadline originally set through the agreement. DeKalb continues to communicate with the EPA and EPD as it pumps millions of dollars into fixing the sewer system.
» RELATED: DeKalb CEO: County will miss 2020 sewer fix deadline
“We made progress, significant progress that has not occurred prior to now,” Thurmond said at a county commission meeting Tuesday. He argued that Keyes Fleming provides objective insight and inside knowledge based on her experience with the EPA. “I need someone who will tell me the truth.”
Keyes Fleming now works for the Washington-based firm Van Ness Feldman LLP. The county will pay the company up to $200,000 over the next several years: $50,000 for the remainder of 2019, $100,000 for 2020 and $50,000 for 2021. Commissioners approved the contract Tuesday, but not before some elected officials criticized the extension.
Commissioner Nancy Jester said she hasn’t seen “that we’re getting any return on our investment from this contract.” She and Commissioner Kathie Gannon voted against the measure. Commissioner Jeff Rader abstained, while the remaining officials voted for it. The proposal to continue working with Keyes Fleming had come before the board four previous times before.
» RELATED: After repeated sewer spills, DeKalb takes aim at problematic spot
She resigned as DeKalb's district attorney in 2010 when President Obama appointed her to become the new regional administrator for the EPA, implementing environmental policy for eight southeastern states. She has also worked in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and served as the chief of staff to the head EPA administrator.
Credit: WSB-TV WSB-TV
Credit: WSB-TV WSB-TV
County officials said Keyes Fleming’s experience has been instrumental as they continue to communicate with the EPA and EPD related to DeKalb’s compliance with the agreement. Repairing the sewer system is estimated to cost the county a total of $326 million.
“This is something we have identified as a need, and we find it to be very helpful to identify our strategies moving forward,” Zach Williams, the chief operating officer for the county, said of the consulting help.
It could take the county several more years before they meet the terms of the environmental agreement.
“I didn’t create the problem, but now I own the problem,” Thurmond told the commission, arguing why the consultant position is needed. “If we fail, then we will have crippled the economic growth of our county.”
Follow DeKalb County News on Facebook and Twitter
In other news:
About the Author
