South

Fulton residents sickened by pollution?

HAMRICK

[email protected]

South Fulton

County is crammed full of landfills, hazardous industrial sites and

hazardous waste facilities.

Its water

and air also are polluted, and its people have more cancer and other

diseases than those in other areas.

That's the

message conveyed by Fulton County officials Tuesday during a town hall

meeting on environmental concerns.

"I'm

saying today that in District 7, we ain't having it no more," said

county Commissioner William "Bill" Edwards, who sponsored

the meeting to provide information and solicit public comment on environmental

policy.

With evangelistic

fervor, Edwards called on residents to fight to keep environmentally

damaging development out of the county. "We need to guard the border

like the U.S. government guards the border between Texas and Mexico,"

he said.

Dr. James

Fason, deputy director of the county Department of Environment and Community

Development, and Dr. Adewale Troutman, director of the Department of

Health and Wellness, presented a bleak picture of South Fulton's current

environmental makeup.

Noise pollution,

air pollution, water pollution and industrial pollution are all at unacceptable

levels, said Fason. And because a majority of the area's population

is made up of black people and other minorities, the phrase "environmental

justice" is significant as well, he said.

Environmental

justice, he said, is defined as "the fair treatment and meaningful

involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin

or income in the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental

laws, regulations and policies."

Fason scrolled

through a slide show of charts showing that:

Virtually

all of Fulton County's toxic release inventory sites are in the southern

part of the county, many of them in the 7th District;

Six solid

waste facilities are in the south, two in the north;

Two hazardous

waste facilities are north of Atlanta, while more than 20 are in commission

Districts 5, 6 and 6 south of town.

Seven of

ten wastewater treatment facilities are in South Fulton, and out of

12 surface streams, only one is able to support its designated use the

rest are too polluted. The Chattahoochee River also is heavily polluted

south of Atlanta, while on the north side it is regularly used for recreational

purposes, Fason said.

"It

will be some time before they clean up the river so you can enjoy it,"

he added.

Hartsfield

International Airport is on the south side and is considered one of

the area's major environmental stressors, adding noise and air pollution,

and having socioeconomic consequences as it expands, Fason said. Plans

to expand the planned fifth runway at Hartsfield will result in more

landfills being built here to handle the construction waste, he said,

and people and businesses will have to be relocated, creating economically

blighted areas.

Troutman,

the Health Department director, conducted his own slide show, mapping

health problems on the north side and in South Fulton.

Premature

deaths from all cancers, AIDS, hypertension, heart attacks and stroke

are much higher in the south end of the county, Troutman's figures showed.

But the causes

aren't all environmental, he said, and presented figures showing that

the area also has more problems with factors over which individuals

have control like smoking, poor nutrition, lack of exercise and obesity.

And in a

recent survey, it was found that Fulton's District 7 has the highest

percentage of people who own guns that are loaded and unlocked, Troutman

said.

Solutions

offered by the presenters included:

Stronger

stream buffer ordinances to protect water quality, along with zero tolerance

for soil erosion violations.

Better land

use planning.

A stronger

tree protection ordinance. (This was enacted last year, said Fason).

A traffic

impact mitigation plan.

A noise

ordinance that would require more intense mitigation from the airport.

A plan for

more green space and laws to require it.

On environmental

justice, Edwards said Fulton County has an environmental justice policy

in place, and the trick now is to make sure it's enforced.

"It's

the policy that has to prevail," he said. Edwards promised to fight

against any rezonings or approval of any new development that will damage

the area, including the proposed fifth runway expansion, and he challenged

the crowd of more than 100 to get involved, including attending Board

of Commissioners meetings when there are issues of importance to South

Fulton on the agenda.

"Those

meetings are at 10 a.m.," said one resident in response. "And

everybody doesn't have money for parking downtown."

It's not

necessary to attend every meeting, Edwards said, but residents should

attend when something important comes up. "Make a way for that

day is all I ask," he said. "When there's a zoning issue in

the north county, my fax blows up," he said.

On the airport,

resident Yusef Sharif urged leaders to consider an injunction to stop

further expansion because of the impact on the area, adding that he

believes environmental justice laws should already be in place to stop

it. "There's something out of key with something that's already

supposed to be in place," he said.

Edwards said

he will do all he can to protect the area, but in the end, he said,

"It's going to be your fight."