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Committee established to raise money for McKnight legal fees

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@TheCitizenNews.com

A group of the county’s residents are trying to help one of the area’s longtime residents in his battle with the federal government.

Friends of Senoia’s Paul McKnight, Jr. have formed a fund-raising committee and want to raise $30,000 to pay legal expenses for the 79-year-old World War II vet and cancer survivor in his battle against the federal government.

McKnight, a lifelong resident of Senoia, may have to pay the government $1.7 million in clean-up and administrative charges in conjunction to a rental agreement that went bad.

The committee is chaired by Gary Sikes and wants to raise the money to pay the legal fees because McKnight’s assets have been frozen and therefore, he is unable to pay the bills.

A special account has been setup at the Bank of Coweta to receive donations to help McKnight pay legal fees and expenses. Anyone wishing to help the McKnight family can send checks payable to the McKnight Defense Fund c/o Bank of Coweta, P.O. Box 1218, Newnan, GA 30254. 

In 1996, McKnight rented out an old cotton warehouse in Senoia that has been owned by the McKnight family for decades for $250 a month. The tenant, who was using the building to store "janitorial supplies," fell behind in the rent and when the lease ended he was evicted, but the stored barrels were left behind. On September 4, 1997 the Georgia Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received an anonymous tip from someone reporting a chemical smell near the warehouse. According to court documents, the EPA inspector stated, "The containers were not teetering or in disarray ... I smelled no solvent or chemical or odor of any kind."

The former tenant got a price quote of $170,000 to have the barrels removed by a private company, but didn't have the money to pay it. 

On September 23, 1997, without the McKnight's knowledge, a search warrant was issued and a team from the EPA, The Environmental Protection Division and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation met to inspect the building. They declared the warehouse "an imminent fire hazard." 

Without giving the McKnights a chance to hire a contractor, the EPA had the site cleaned up by a contractor and paid them $800,000. At a public forum a representative from the EPA stated that the EPA had funds to pay for the cleanup. Later they billed the McKnights for the overpriced cleanup.  

Liens have been placed on all of McKnight’s property, which has left him without means to pay these huge bills.

More than 12,000 petitions protesting the situation have been received by the McKnight family and will be presented to Georgia political leaders in the coming weeks.

The case is currently in the appeals process and McKnight and his attorneys are scheduled to meet with EPA officials in Washington this week.