The Georgia Environmental Protection Division on Thursday certified a need for the Glades Reservoir, ensuring that Hall County can move forward with its application for a federal reservoir permit.
The county submitted its request for the needs certification letter in August.
"It is a big deal and we are very excited about this," said Hall County Public Works Director Ken Rearden. "This is big news for Hall County and this region."
The reservoir, which is planned on 850 acres in the northeastern part of the county, is slated to meet the water demands for Hall County, the city of Gainesville and Forsyth County for the next 50 years.
With the needs certification letter in hand, Rearden said the county now must complete its environmental mitigation plan before submitting its permit application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
"We expect to hopefully have the permit in the corps' hands no later than the first or second week of February," Rearden said. "They assured us a year ago that this is one of their top priority projects."
In February 2007, Hall County filed an application with the corps for a permit to build Glades Reservoir.
Following the 2009 federal ruling that drastically altered future water allocations from Lake Lanier, Hall County temporarily withdrew its permit application in September 2009.
County engineers and consultants went back to the drawing board to create a reservoir system that will pump water from the Chattahoochee River to increase the reservoir's yield. A revised permit application can be submitted to the corps now that the county has obtained the EPD's certification.
The process was likely prolonged due to disagreements between Hall County and the city of Gainesville.
The city and the county agreed to nonbinding mediation at the request of Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Georgia Environmental Protection Division Director Allen Barnes.
Mediation will be Feb. 2.
Barnes said he would not release the needs assessment letter until Hall County and Gainesville could reach an agreement over the existing Cedar Creek Reservoir.
The two governments disagree over which entity has control of the water and the financial details of its inclusion in a larger system with the proposed Glades Reservoir.
Rather than build a separate water treatment plant at Glades, the county plans to pump the water from the Glades Reservoir into Cedar Creek Reservoir, where Gainesville will have a treatment plant and distribution lines. The city is the drinking water distributor for most Hall County residents.
Hall County Board of Commissioners Chairman Tom Oliver, who has been one of the reservoir's top advocates, said he was very pleased that the EPD issued the letter before the end of the year, pointing out that there is still a lot of work to be done before the reservoir can become a reality.
"We thank the EPD for their Christmas spirit," Oliver said. "It truly is a milestone. It's something we've been looking for and we're just excited we were able to accomplish this."