Residents in

Fayette and South Fulton counties have joined forces to try and convince

Williams Corporation to locate a proposed Fulton Energy Center somewhere

else.

Williams has

announced plans to build a 1,230-megawatt-capable energy center on 288

acres between Peters Road and Old Jonesboro Road. The land, all in South

Fulton, abuts the Fayette County border and stretches to just below the

Union City electric substation.

The land is

currently zoned agricultural. Williams has asked Fulton County to change

the parcel's zoning category to M-2 (heavy industrial).

Representatives

from the surrounding neighborhoods and homes, as well as individuals from

Fayette, Coweta, Clayton and Fulton, have formed an organization they

have named Safeguard South Metro to "stop the power plant from ruining

a beautiful section of our counties," said Mari Jo Palidino, one

of the initial organizers.

Palidino lives

on Old Jonesboro Road next to the plant site.

Williams officially

announced plans regarding the plant in April of this year and began contacting

homeowners, business leaders, religious leaders and other officials in

the same month. The process to locate an appropriate site began in the

fall of 2000, according to Dan Skizim, project director.

According to

company documents, the site in south Fulton was chosen based on a number

of factors, including its proximity to a source of natural gas, electric

transmission facilities, power substation, availability of water, and

the availability of a parcel of land of sufficient size for the 30- to

35-acre power plant.

Williams currently

has options on a roughly U-shaped piece of property that surrounds property

owned by Floyd and Mary Davis, Palidino and William Colver. The actual

power plant will be just north of the Fayette County line toward the southwest

corner of the property. Williams has designated that a portion of land,

which will include an 82.37-acre tract on the opposite side of the property,

will be left as green space for the community. The exact amount of land

to be designated has not been determined.

Williams representatives

say the plant will be clean-running, will produce less noise than most

power plants, and will be surrounded by buffers and green space.

The neighborhood

group met Monday night to continue its discussion of the proposed plant.

A town hall

meeting June 23 with Williams representatives "left more questions

unanswered than answered," said Palidino. Residents of the area have

complained that the company has been less than forthcoming in answering

their concerns.

Skizim said

company representatives came to the meeting because they were asked to,

and that they have committed to being forthcoming with all information.

But the representatives could not answer all the questions because they

were in the early stages of plant development and did not have all the

answers, he said.

Since the newly

designated Safeguard South Metro group first began organizing a few months

ago, the group has been growing. Currently a core group of approximately

30 representatives has formed a steering committee. Palidino said many

others have volunteered to help in distributing flyers, doing research

and contacting neighbors.

"We have

a lengthy list of individuals who have said they would like to help in

convincing our elected officials that it is not in the best interests

of the community to place a plant of this nature in the middle of a residential

area," she said.

The group is

circulating a petition that it will present to local elected officials.

According to Palidino, members began collecting signatures toward the

end of June and have obtained "well over 300 names without a lot

of effort thus far."

Members of

the group voiced a number of concerns. Ed Williams, whose property lies

in both South Fulton and Fayette, said he got involved after a neighbor

talked with him. He said that when he purchased his 22 acres approximately

two years ago, "I thought I had found a piece of heaven. The most

noise I ever heard in the morning was the geese honking." He said

that as he now understands it, his property, which includes Green Valley

Lake, backs right up to the plant.

Allen Ken has

lived in the Peters Road area since he was 5 years old. He said his mother

has asthma and that the family is concerned about the health aspects of

having a plant in the area. He said, "When I stand on my front porch,

I can already see the light and a good portion of the tower on the property."

He had questions regarding the lights, visibility and noise in addition

to health concerns.

Homeowners

from Wagon Wheel Road, Davis Road, Peters Road, Westbridge Road and other

neighborhoods in Fayette County are involved with the newly formed Safeguard

group. Most voiced concerns regarding air pollution and property values.

One noted that while in South Fulton the area may become entirely industrial

at some point, on the Fayette County side that will not happen.

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