Friday, February 8, 2002
|
Friday, February 8, 2002 |
|
Airport chief, water officials to meet with public at meeting today over Hartsfield chemical spill By JOHN
MUNFORD Fayette State Rep. Kathy Cox has a lot of questions about the recent chemical spill at Hartsfield International Airport that likely contaminated Fayette County's drinking water several weeks ago. Why was the spill into the Flint River originally reported at just 250 gallons and the latest reports are over 30,000 gallons leaked from the airport? Who is responsible? And what will keep it from happening again? These and other questions may or may not be answered at a special meeting today that Cox is hosting for local citizens. Airport Manager Ben DeCosta is one of the guests scheduled to appear along with representatives of the Fayette County Water Department. The meeting is slated for 4 p.m. at City Hall in Peachtree City. Cox brought up her questions to fellow legislators Tuesday afternoon as she testified to a special subcommittee that is studying a proposed bill to change how Hartsfield is managed. Currently, the airport is operated by the city of Atlanta but some Republican legislators, including Minority Whip Lynn Westmoreland of Sharpsburg, want to change that. For her part, Cox said Fayette residents who were inconvenienced by the sweet-smelling water deserve some answers. "If the facility for de-icing holds about 120,000 gallons and I was told approximately 175,000 gallons were used that day, where did that 55,000 gallons worth of antifreeze go?" Cox asked. "Who's responsible ... and how do we hold them responsible?" Cox noted that Fayette residents have no voice in the operation at Hartsfield although they are affected by noise and air pollution from the airport. Although Cox said she knew about the airport's economic impact on Fayette in terms of jobs provided, she added that she is learning about how it can affect the county environmentally because of this issue. After the hearing, Cox said she planned to stay out of the airport management debate until news broke of the contaminated water affecting south Fayette residents, many of whom live in Peachtree City. Cox also wants to know how the state EPD approved the de-icing facility at Hartsfield, saying it is only three years old. "We have to have some kind of accountability," Cox said. The county water department shut down one of its treatment plants for several days while the extent of the contamination was probed. One of the samples taken from a residence yielded "trace" amounts of antifreeze, which is used to de-ice airplanes at Hartsfield during cold weather spells. The subcommittee plans to hear from "experts" on the proposal to change the operating structure of Hartsfield. One state representative protested the change, saying the new administration in Atlanta under new mayor Shirley Franklin should be given a chance to work out the situation. Westmoreland and fellow bill sponsor Rep. Earl Ehrhart argued that mismanagement uncovered in an internal audit show the airport needs a less political environment to operate properly. Ehrhart said external audits are needed to insure the public's trust in the airport operations. Earlier in the hearing, Ehrhart pointed out that the City of Atlanta used lawyers for the airport for city business, according to a finding in the internal audit. Also, the city used airport funds to purchase a backhoe and other heavy equipment in addition to misappropriating an additional $700,000 in airport funds. Ehrhart said the immediate need for having a new management structure for the airport was to insure its stability since it is a key player in the entire state's economy. He argued that the City of Atlanta was not being shut out from the process as his bill, HB 1012, would allow new Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin to serve on the "Major Airport Operations Board." The bill calls for the authority to consist of the Atlanta mayor, the chairmen of the Fulton and Clayton county commissions (or their designees), and several members appointed by the state Department of Transportation. The DOT already has an aviation division that is experienced with dealing with airport-related duties, Ehrhart said.
|
||