No contaminants found; barrel likely leftover from previous water tests

It turns out the unmarked barrel found at a former construction dump site now owned by John Wieland Homes didn’t have contaminated waste inside it after all.

Instead the barrel at the “Peach Pit” contained water that had been retrieved from a well when the property’s groundwater had been tested some time ago, according to Mark Mitchell, president of Genesis Project, the firm that tested the barrel’s contents for John Wieland Homes. No contaminants were found in the barrel water and it has been disposed of, Mitchell added.

The barrel simply was not marked by the previous company that performed the testing, Mitchell said.

The property is locally referred to as “The Peach PIt” because it was an informal dumping area used for tree stumps, asphalt, concrete and other construction debris years ago. It is located on an 88-acre parcel that is zoned for industrial use, but Wieland officials sought to have it rezoned earlier this year for a townhome project that was turned down by the City Council.

Local environmentalist Dennis Chase complained several weeks ago to the City Council that the barrel was a sign the property could have contaminated material on site. He urged the city to conduct an environmental investigation and make sure the site was cleaned up.

Wieland Vice President Dan Fields said Thursday that the site’s groundwater was tested before Wieland bought the property from Pathway Communities. A recent check of the property revealed that someone broke the chains to the gate and dumped some household trash, but that has also now been cleaned up, Fields said.

“There are no barrels buried on the property,” Fields added.

The chains have been replaced and the property has been marked with signs so only authorized persons have access, Fields said.

Fields added that the company would monitor the site, which has been grassed over for the time being. The entire parcel will be studied by a task force appointed by the City Council at Wieland’s request to determine what development should occur on the property.

The parcel is located along Ga. Highway 74 near the southern end of Kedron Drive and it is also bordered by the CSX railroad.

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