A committee

opposed to the expansion of the fifth runway at Hartsfield International

Airport is now gathering signatures and funds to mount a class action

lawsuit.

Rex Renfroe,

who represents the Hartsfield Community Advisory Committee, said the group

met last weekend and has plans to file the suit against the city of Atlanta

and its Department of Aviation.

But before

the suit can be filed, Renfroe said a final action, such as the city approving

the expansion of the runway, must be complete.

The issue centers

on whether the runway will be 6,000 feet long to accommodate smaller planes

or 9,000 feet, allowing all planes to use it as additional runway space.

The 6,000-foot

runway has already been approved, but officials later decided to seek

approval to tack on 3,000 more feet to handle the big jets, igniting a

storm of protest from residents of South Fulton, who say they'll suffer

more noise, pollution, disruption and loss of property values due to the

change.

Renfroe said

the lawsuit would revolve around three issues:

Inverse condemnation.

Renfroe claims the city has decreased the property values by placing the

airport in the area and will not be compensating residents for the true

worth of their homes and property.

The Clean

Air Act.

"Hartsfield

is the single largest polluter in the region and we feel the expansion

would further violate provisions of the law," he said.

Environmental

justice. Because the area affected by the expansion is 80 percent minority

and 40 percent poor, Renfroe believes the group has a valid complaint

over the runway expansion.

Renfroe lives

off Ga. Highway 92 in Fulton County and has been fighting for citizens

near the airport for years. He urges all residents who feel they have

complaints against the airport to sign up for the suit at hartstop.com .

County Commissioner

Bill Edwards attended the meeting last week and told the committee about

Fulton County's mitigation plan to try and seek some sort of relief for

affected homeowners and businesses.

The final environmental

impact study on the runway options for the airport also was released late

last week and Edwards said Fulton County officials are studying the document

before they make any comments.

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