State Halts New Construction at McLemore Resort Following Wastewater Violations

State environmental regulators have ordered extensive improvements to the wastewater system serving McLemore Resort and temporarily halted new construction that would increase sewage flows after documenting more than 100 permit violations and two untreated wastewater spills over the past four years.

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s consent order applies to the McLemore Water Reclamation Facility in Rising Fawn, which serves the resort and surrounding residential community. According to the order, state inspectors documented 112 permit violations between April 2022 and February 2026 involving wastewater treatment operations and permit compliance. The violations included repeated exceedances of permitted limits for biochemical oxygen demand, fecal coliform bacteria, turbidity, total suspended solids and wastewater flow.

The consent order also details two untreated wastewater spills into Mill Creek. Approximately 60,000 gallons were released between Oct. 27 and Oct. 29, 2025, after a lift station failure. A second spill in January 2026 released about 9,300 gallons, bringing the total discharged into the creek to nearly 70,000 gallons. Mill Creek flows through McLemore Cove before joining West Chickamauga Creek, making it a waterway familiar to many Dade County residents.

State inspectors also reported the treatment plant was “short-circuiting in every aspect of the treatment process” because of heavy wastewater flow from the resort’s hotel, according to the consent order. Regulators further determined McLemore failed to begin a planned wastewater treatment plant expansion by the deadline established in an earlier corrective action plan and did not submit a required permit renewal application on time.

As part of the agreement, EPD ordered McLemore to submit an updated corrective action plan within 30 days and complete required improvements within 36 months. The agency also imposed an immediate moratorium on new construction that would increase wastewater flows until regulators determine the system can safely handle additional capacity. The restriction applies to future residential construction, employee housing, hotel expansion, golf-related improvements, pools, event facilities and other planned projects.

The consent order includes a stipulated civil penalty of $111,875. However, McLemore may offset part or all of that amount by completing state-approved corrective actions and infrastructure improvements.

In a statement released following the consent order, McLemore officials said the resort inherited an outdated wastewater system when it assumed operational oversight in 2022 and has since invested in treatment upgrades while designing a long-term expansion.

“The Sewer Board inherited a wastewater system that had gone for many years without meaningful modernization and required significant rehabilitation,” the statement said.

The resort said the October 2025 spill resulted from an unforeseen electrical failure at a lift station and that replacement controls were installed immediately after the problem was discovered. It also said ongoing water-quality monitoring required by EPD has shown only negligible changes in downstream sampling results.

The consent order remains in effect until EPD determines McLemore has completed the required corrective actions and demonstrated the wastewater system can operate within state permit requirements.

CAPTION: The Georgia EPD recently issued a consent order prohibiting McLemore Resort from conducting new construction until after wastewater improvements are made.