State says Snellville can’t regulate crematory emissions

The state attorney general has thrown cold water on a Snellville city councilwoman’s ordinance to regulate the emissions of crematories.

In an unofficial opinion issued Monday, the state wrote that the Georgia Air Quality Act pre-empts the city from passing the air-quality control ordinance drafted by councilwoman Kelly Kautz.

“I don’t agree with the opinion, but I respect it,” Kautz said Tuesday, adding that she likely won’t push forward as sponsor. The City Council was expected to vote on the ordinance March 23.

The opinion comes almost seven months after Kautz introduced the measure amid public outcry over a crematory that had opened its doors Sept. 2 near a residential neighborhood.

Kautz, who is an attorney, had disagreed with City Attorney Mike Williams’ findings that the city had no legal authority to regulate crematory pollutants. The city then asked the state attorney general for an unofficial opinion on the matter.

Meanwhile, the city in October shuttered Cremation Society of the South at U.S. 78 and Abington Drive after an appeals board ruling over building plans. Crematory owner Chris Nuzum sued the city in November. That lawsuit is still pending.

Kevin Moore, Nuzum’s attorney, did not immediately return calls Tuesday.

Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer, who was opposed to the ordinance from the start, said the state’s opinion isn’t surprising. “It would have been unexpected if he ruled that we could have [regulated emissions], and I doubt very much that he would have opened that pandora’s box,” Oberholtzer said.