Friday, February 8, 2002
|
Friday, February 8, 2002 |
|
Legislator: Who's minding the store
By DAVE
HAMRICK
State Rep. Kathy Cox of Peachtree City wants answers to why Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport allowed pollution to flow into Fayette's water supply Jan. 3. And she wants a regional authority to oversee the airport from now on. "This authority would give the public affected by the operation of this airport some kind of accountability," Cox said in testimony Tuesday before the state House Aviation Subcommittee, which is studying bills designed to do just that. The airport's spill of at least 30,000 gallons of deicing agent into the Flint River Jan. 3 is "clearly a case in point of how that airport and its operation have more than just an economic impact on the surrounding region," Cox told The Citizen prior to her testimony. Officials of the state Environmental Protection Division are asking the airport administration to agree to a consent order calling for immediate and long-term solutions to a "fatal design flaw" in the handling of deicing fluids (see related story). The fluids are supposed to flow into a sanitary sewer for treatment before being released into the storm sewers, which flow into the Flint River, source of drinking water for points south of the airport, but instead thousands of gallons are going directly into the Flint, officials said. Following a snow storm Jan. 3, Hartsfield officials reported a spill of an estimated 250 gallons, but EPD officials told the Citizen at least 30,000 gallons reached the Flint without being treated. The problem surfaced during January as EPD investigated complaints from Fayette, Clayton and Spalding County residents about water that smelled sweet "sickeningly sweet," said Patty Culjak of Peachtree City. Culjak said the water smelled like antifreeze and put forth the theory that glycol used in deicing at Hartsfield may be to blame. After looking into it, Bert Langley of EPD's Emergency Response Program concurred. "I'm almost certain that's what caused it," he said, adding that repeated testing shows the water to be safe for local residents. "What they [the airport] did was absolutely, totally irresponsible to the region," Cox told The Citizen. "They really didn't think they had to answer to anybody." The incident "raised some questions," said Cox, "not just that the airport acted irresponsibly, but who is overseeing it, and who should have a say into how the airport is run." Republicans in the state Legislature are pushing for creation of a regional authority to take some of that oversight out of the city of Atlanta's hands, and Cox said she'll be pushing for passage of that legislation. Another issue, she said, is why Hartsfield didn't immediately notify water systems down stream when chemicals were spilled into the Flint Jan. 3. "The big question is why weren't people told," she said in Tuesday's testimony. "If we had gotten a phone call, we could have turned the pump off at the river," confirmed Tony Parrott, water system director. "Now we'll keep a closer watch on them," he added. With freezing weather and possible precipitation predicted for today, Wednesday, Cox said local residents have a right to worry. "With the bad weather, is this going to happen again?" she asked during the subcommittee hearings.
|
||