MONROE COUNTY, Ga. — The legal fights between Georgia Power and dozens of people in Juliette are now over.
Last month, a Monroe County judge ruled in favor of the power company, saying their Plant Scherer coal plant wasn't causing water pollution in the county.
Then, more than 60 people in Juliette agreed to drop their lawsuits against Georgia Power and one of the nation's largest coal-power plants.
Their lawyer won't comment on details of their settlement - such as whether the utility paid them to drop the case - but the agreement came a few days after a judge said there's no evidence their coal-ash ponds are polluting Juliette's water or making people sick.
Lawsuits against Georgia Power claimed the utility company unlawfully released and dumped heavy toxic metals from coal ash into their groundwater. The suit said neighbors suffered from health problems like cancer, liver damage and more.
Lawyer Brian Adams represents some of the people who live near Plant Scherer.
He told 13WMAZ that his clients asked Georgia Power to pay for personal injuries and property damage, to stop polluting their water and to pay for medical monitoring.
People in Juliette relied on well water until the county provided a water line in 2022.
Andrea Goolsby grew up in Juliette. She says despite the settlement, she still believes bad water caused health problems in Juliette.
"There were lots of different contaminants that have been found in our drinking water," Goolsby said.
The company said they have been collecting groundwater samples and data from monitoring wells, and last month, judge Robert Wilson ruled that Plant Scherer hasn't affected Juliette's groundwater.
"I still believe that they are the cause of all the issues that the people in Juliette still have," Goolsby said.
Goolsby was not one of the people who sued Georgia Power, but she says she's still concerned about the coal ash from their plant and future contamination.
"We still have a problem with the coal ash being in an unlined pit, which the EPD is scheduled to issue a permit in January and expecting that to happen soon after the first of the year, but it would be an illegal permit based on the CCR rule, the federal rule of coal ash," Goolsby said.
Judge Wilson dismissed the lawsuits with the condition that they can't sue again. Right now, Georgia Power is spending more than $7 billion to close the ash ponds at their two remaining coal plants, Scherer and Bowen in Bartow County.
Below is the full Georgia Power Statement from spokesperson John Kraft:
"Georgia Power has been, and continues to be, confident in the strengths of our case. We were prepared to try the case in August and again in November. We are pleased with the Court’s decision in this case, which concluded that Plant Scherer does not negatively impact drinking water and did not cause or contribute to any injuries."