Chattahoochee Riverkeeper files lawsuit over muddy water coming from Columbus construction site

The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper has filed a federal lawsuit against the owner and developer of an apartment complex in Columbus that alleges ongoing violations of the Clean Water Act.

The lawsuit, filed last week against Phenix City, Alabama-based developer SCorUSA and apartment complex Aspire at Old Guard in Columbus, alleges the companies failed to follow regulations intended to protect waterways from muddy stormwaters during the construction phase.  

“The failure to implement and maintain basic pollution controls has destroyed the neighboring creeks and aquatic life downstream. Given the gravity of these violations and the defendants’ refusal to work collaboratively on a solution, CRK is moving forward with our lawsuit,” Jason Ulseth, Riverkeeper and the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s executive director, said in a statement Tuesday.

The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper first notified Columbus officials in 2025 after muddy stormwater had been released into the Chattahoochee river system due to “broken and insufficient pollution controls.” Despite the city requiring developers to fix the problem, the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper found that the situation had worsened by early 2026 after heavy rainfall that the environmental group said caused the pristine stream that is normally teeming with life to be filled with sediment from the muddy waters flowing from the construction site.

The lawsuit comes after the riverkeeper filed an open records request in February for site inspection reports that showed the 25-acre development had been poorly managed and the problem had gotten significantly worse. The city issued a stop-work order shortly after that and again in early May, which Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Deputy Director Henry Jacobs said in an interview Tuesday demonstrates that city officials are more engaged. But Jacobs said the group moved forward with the federal lawsuit because they argue local officials haven’t done enough to hold the developers accountable.

Jacobs said that the runoff from the construction site impacts “everything living in the creek,” as well as surrounding properties and downstream users.

“If the creek is full of mud and it can’t hold as much water, the risk of flooding can increase,” he said. “Property values are being impacted, especially further downstream, where you have private ponds, and then Lake Oliver, and then the river itself.”

Messages seeking comment were left Tuesday with Steven W. Corbett and Dan Nibblett, who were named in the lawsuit as being associated with SCorUSA, LLC and Aspire at Old Guard, LLC, as well as a spokesperson for the Columbus Consolidated Government.

The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper sent a 60-day notice of intent to sue, which is required in these cases, to the developers in March, but the developers never replied to the notice. Jacobs said it is “very rare that an entity does not respond to us during those 60 days.”

The lawsuit asked the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia for an injunction to prevent further damage and require the developer to restore the tributaries. They also seek civil penalties of $68,445 per day for each violation of the Clean Water Act, which would be paid to the U.S. Treasury, as well as the costs of bringing the lawsuit.

“Our biggest concern is all of the mud and sediment that has already been dumped into the creek over the past year,” Jacobs said. “We want this developer to clean up the creek and mitigate any further damages.”