Meetings Thusday on Bishop bypass, sewer line in Oconee County

The Georgia Department of Transportation and a group appointed to work
with them on a bypass around Bishop have scheduled a public meeting on
the proposed project this Thursday at 5:30 p.m.


Following that meeting, in the same meeting room in the Oconee County
Library, the Friends of Call Creek scheduled a meeting to discuss the
status of a planned sewer pipeline that would follow Calls Creek to the
point where the creek joins the Middle Oconee River.


Both the bypass plan and the sewer pipeline project are controversial in Oconee County.


The agenda for the Bishop bypass meeting includes a brief recap of an
earlier meeting in December; what’s happened in the months following;
the GDOT’s work plan for the rest of this year; and a rough timeline for
the project, highlighting key project milestones.


Also under discussion is the effect of Senate Bill 346, approved by
the Georgia legislature this year, which exempts GDOT from having to
comply with most state environmental laws on projects under $100
million.


Both the bypass and the sewer line projects have come under citizen
scrutiny because of the possible impacts they may have. Depending on the
route GDOT officials choose, the bypass around Bishop could change the
rural and agricultural preservation zone designation for protection by
Oconee County’s future development planning map.


A sewer line down Calls Creek, emptying into the Middle Oconee, could
affect water quality as well as property values, since it would pass
through homeowners’ property along the way.



Meetings Thusday on Bishop bypass, sewer line in Oconee County