The Georgia Bureau of Investigation continues looking into the Summerville Wastewater Plant, but city officials say they still are unclear what the agency is investigating.
Greg Ramey, assistant special agent in charge of the GBI office in Calhoun, said the agency began investigating the plant at the end of June at the request of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit district attorney. He said he could not discuss the focus of the investigation but it remained open and would be criminal in nature if allegations turn out to be true.
Ramey did not have a time frame for when the investigation would be completed.
Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Buzz Franklin declined to comment.
City Manager Russell Thompson said the city was cooperating with the GBI but would not say exactly what they were investigating.
"The GBI hasn't come back to us with anything," Thompson said.
He said the wastewater plant passed an internal audit and its annual audit from the state Environmental Protection Division. Since the investigation began, he said, the city has eliminated one lab analyst position and ensured that all the plant operators have Class 2 certification as recommended in the audit.
The Summerville News has stated that the investigation was about how a former Hays State Prison trusty was being used at the plant, attributing the statement to an unnamed city official.
Thompson said some trusties help out at the plant, but he would not say whether the investigation involved any of the trusties.