Ellijay recently received a check for $5,000 for permit penalties. Speaking at this week’s city council meeting, Code Enforcement Officer Don Schneider explained the situation. He said a local land owner was in violation in various environmental regulations. He said previously a large tract of and was annexed. Initially, the intended use for the land was paint ball games. Later, though, a Blue Ridge resident purchased the land. At this point, Schneider said, the new owner was dumping mud into the river. He also was grading and clearing trees without the permits. Ellijay has been working with the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) for the past month to address these issues. The EPD recommended the city issuing a consent order. According to USLEGAL.com, a consent order is a voluntary agreement between two parties in dispute and can be enforced by the court if one of the parties does not comply with it.

“We had several meetings with the gentleman (who owns the land),”

Schneider said,

“And the EPD gave him a choice: sign the consent order with the city and pay the city the fines that we demanded. Or, the EPD…(would) start their fines at around $40,000. So he signed the consent order this last period. We brought this case to a close (and) he wrote us a check for $5,000.”