Friday, July 13,
2001
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Power plant neighbors get organized By JANET
McGREGOR
Residents in Fayette and South Fulton counties have joined forces to try and convince Williams Corporation to locate a proposed Fulton Energy Center somewhere else. Williams has announced plans to build a 1,230-megawatt-capable energy center on 288 acres between Peters Road and Old Jonesboro Road. The land, all in South Fulton, abuts the Fayette County border and stretches to just below the Union City electric substation. The land is currently zoned agricultural. Williams has asked Fulton County to change the parcel's zoning category to M-2 (heavy industrial). Representatives from the surrounding neighborhoods and homes, as well as individuals from Fayette, Coweta, Clayton and Fulton, have formed an organization they have named Safeguard South Metro to "stop the power plant from ruining a beautiful section of our counties," said Mari Jo Palidino, one of the initial organizers. Palidino lives on Old Jonesboro Road next to the plant site. Williams officially announced plans regarding the plant in April of this year and began contacting homeowners, business leaders, religious leaders and other officials in the same month. The process to locate an appropriate site began in the fall of 2000, according to Dan Skizim, project director. According to company documents, the site in south Fulton was chosen based on a number of factors, including its proximity to a source of natural gas, electric transmission facilities, power substation, availability of water, and the availability of a parcel of land of sufficient size for the 30- to 35-acre power plant. Williams currently has options on a roughly U-shaped piece of property that surrounds property owned by Floyd and Mary Davis, Palidino and William Colver. The actual power plant will be just north of the Fayette County line toward the southwest corner of the property. Williams has designated that a portion of land, which will include an 82.37-acre tract on the opposite side of the property, will be left as green space for the community. The exact amount of land to be designated has not been determined. Williams representatives say the plant will be clean-running, will produce less noise than most power plants, and will be surrounded by buffers and green space. The neighborhood group met Monday night to continue its discussion of the proposed plant. A town hall meeting June 23 with Williams representatives "left more questions unanswered than answered," said Palidino. Residents of the area have complained that the company has been less than forthcoming in answering their concerns. Skizim said company representatives came to the meeting because they were asked to, and that they have committed to being forthcoming with all information. But the representatives could not answer all the questions because they were in the early stages of plant development and did not have all the answers, he said. Since the newly designated Safeguard South Metro group first began organizing a few months ago, the group has been growing. Currently a core group of approximately 30 representatives has formed a steering committee. Palidino said many others have volunteered to help in distributing flyers, doing research and contacting neighbors. "We have a lengthy list of individuals who have said they would like to help in convincing our elected officials that it is not in the best interests of the community to place a plant of this nature in the middle of a residential area," she said. The group is circulating a petition that it will present to local elected officials. According to Palidino, members began collecting signatures toward the end of June and have obtained "well over 300 names without a lot of effort thus far." Members of the group voiced a number of concerns. Ed Williams, whose property lies in both South Fulton and Fayette, said he got involved after a neighbor talked with him. He said that when he purchased his 22 acres approximately two years ago, "I thought I had found a piece of heaven. The most noise I ever heard in the morning was the geese honking." He said that as he now understands it, his property, which includes Green Valley Lake, backs right up to the plant. Allen Ken has lived in the Peters Road area since he was 5 years old. He said his mother has asthma and that the family is concerned about the health aspects of having a plant in the area. He said, "When I stand on my front porch, I can already see the light and a good portion of the tower on the property." He had questions regarding the lights, visibility and noise in addition to health concerns. Homeowners from Wagon Wheel Road, Davis Road, Peters Road, Westbridge Road and other neighborhoods in Fayette County are involved with the newly formed Safeguard group. Most voiced concerns regarding air pollution and property values. One noted that while in South Fulton the area may become entirely industrial at some point, on the Fayette County side that will not happen.
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