As you read in last week’s Citizen, it is quite possible that the Police Department facility could be suffering from water infiltrating the foundation from underground. The report, filed by Eagle Indoor Air, should be a wake-up call for Peachtree City.
Over six years ago, the city elected to purchase an unregulated dump from Pathway with taxpayer dollars. That site is also the location that was chosen for the police headquarters.
Although I consider there to have been some public disclosure problems from the government related to that specific purchase, the fact of the matter is we knowingly bought a dump from a local influential development interest.
Since the City Council at the time of purchase had a report in hand describing an unregulated dumping history on the site, the city is in a position of legal responsibility for whatever negative affect the buried waste might have on the surrounding area, including water quality.
I was glad to read that Eagle Indoor Air is going to pursue some further geotechnical work as well as test the groundwater for hazardous materials.
A couple of years ago, a contractor began some excavation work on that site. The work ceased because his equipment unearthed trash and water. Until that instance my council and the city manager did not know that the site had formerly been an unregulated dumping ground.
The action proved there was, in fact, water intermingling with the buried waste. Since the trash, sewage sludge and debris were randomly dumped in large holes in the ground without professional supervision and soil liners, a problem exists with water being present also.
I spoke to couple of people whom I respect when it comes to environmental issues. Both suggested that the site be excavated and the waste removed in a responsible manner. Since a possibility exists that there could be toxic materials in the ground and liners were not used, I fully support cleaning the site.
Since the taxpayers are most likely legally responsible for the site, and we have no reliable documentation of what is buried there, cleaning the site would make us environmentally accountable and help us avoid the possibility of lawsuits in the future.
On a final note, the City Council should be aware that a large dumping site, dubbed the “Peach Pit,” exists within the proposed Westside annexation area. That dump is also a remnant from Pathway.
It would certainly be in the best interest of the taxpayers to thoroughly examine all of the options via objective geotechnical and water studies, especially avoiding the acquisition of that particular parcel.
In turn, having the Peach Pit become the common property of a bunch of unknowing homeowners through their association would not be fair either. This matter is not something that can be worked out on a moment’s notice at a council meeting, and I hope they perform the necessary work in advance.
Steve Brown
Peachtree City, Ga.
[Brown served as mayor of Peachtree City beginning in 2002. He lost a reelection bid in 2005.]
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