ATLANTA – Georgia House Majority Caucus Whip James Burchett (R-Waycross) and Atkinson County Commission Chairman Parker Liles today hosted a meeting in Pearson, Georgia, to announce progress toward addressing longstanding sewer and water system maintenance backlogs that pose safety issues for residents of Pearson and Atkinson County.
“I am grateful that we were able to take this important step forward for the residents of Atkinson County,” said Whip Burchett. “The people of Pearson have dealt with these challenges for far too long, and they deserve more than short-term fixes. They deserve dependable, safe water every single day. I am committed to continuing our work with local, state and federal partners to ensure Pearson has the reliable and effective water and sewer infrastructure its residents need and deserve.”
In the meeting, Whip Burchett and State Senator Russ Goodman (R-Cogdell) urged the City of Pearson to temporarily sign over operational control of the sewer and water system to Atkinson County – which would be the only way to access state grant funds to begin to address system maintenance and repair issues immediately.
In attendance and involved in discussions to address these issues were local and state government officials from agencies and entities including the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, Georgia Environmental Protection Division, Georgia Department of Public Health, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, the Governor’s Office, the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, the Speaker’s Office, the City of Pearson, Atkinson County, Atkinson County Schools, as well as the Georgia Rural Water Authority, the Georgia Municipal Association and experts in the maintenance and testing of these systems.
Representative James Burchett represents the citizens of District 176, which includes Lanier County, as well as portions of Coffee, Atkinson, Lowndes and Ware counties. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2019 and currently serves as the House Majority Whip. He also serves on the Appropriations, Appropriations Subcommittee on Judicial, Ethics, Judiciary, Judiciary Non-Civil, Public and Community Health, Rural Development, State Properties and Transportation committees, as well as an Ex-Officio member of the Rules Committee.
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