Friday, May 7, 2004

Fairburn landfill causing a stink By LINDSAY BIANCHI lbianchi@thecitizennews.com A handful of studies presented to the Fairburn City Council at their April 26 meeting did little to persuade board members to vote down the proposed annexation and rezoning of the Safeguard Landfill located near U.S. Highway 29. Mayor Betty Hannah cast the tie-breaking vote which helped to pass the resolution despite evidence suggesting harmful consequences from the expansion of the site. Citizens of Fairburn and Fulton County residents jammed the meeting hall to protest what some labeled “expansion for another dump, another dollar.” In a letter to the South Fulton Citizen, Mario Avery, a resident of Fairburn, stated that, “The approved recommendation lead by Councilman Marian Johnson and supported by Councilman Glenn Higgins and Councilman Doug Crawford represents a loss of value to what the citizens want for this city.” The property in question, a C and D (construction and debris) unlined landfill which sits over the Bear Creek water basin near Hobgood Road fueled the debate as to whether or not it was a danger to the surrounding communities. While the city suggested there was nothing problematic about such a dump site, report after report were presented by concerned members of the audience which told a different story. CCA (chromated copper arsenic) treated wood and gypsum drywall which contains calcium sulfate presented the biggest problem, said one resident. Arsenic pollution and hydrogen sulfide, toxic in high concentration were the byproducts identified from the results of a study done at the Florida Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management in August of 2003. C and D landfills are not regulated at the federal level but are monitored at the state level once or twice a year. Although there are guidelines to ensure that hazardous materials are not being dumped, materials such as asbestos insulation, florescent ballasts, fireproof plasterboard, lead paint and banned pesticides are, at times, inadvertently included. Landfill fires, which can smolder for weeks sending smoke into the air containing dangerous chemical compounds, was the subject of another report submitted to the council. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Fire Administration National Fire Data Center’s findings also mentioned the difficulty in putting out such a fire since water tends to only aggravate the problem and that a PCB fire will make a town uninhabitable. A similar case presided over by New Hampshire Supreme Court Judge Jean Burling in April of 2003 was overturned. Judge Burling stated, “No one town should be burdened by the uncontrolled growth of a landfill.” Sandra Hardy, a paid consultant for Safeguard met with Mayor Betty Hannah and City Administrator Jim Williams to discuss the plans of Safeguard Landfill Management, L.L.C. and S.C.M.I. Holdings, Inc. to expand their operations. Those opposed to the rezoning and annexation were disappointed that the city did not host a meeting for citizens concerned about the move. They felt that those in charge had been courted by Hardy. With the landfill property being annexed into the city, Fairburn will receive a “tipping fee” for each ton of waste dumped at the site. It means more revenue for Fairburn, but at residents wondered what the ultimate cost would be to its residents. City officials did not comment on the issue by press-time.