Residents and officials who

spoke to The Citizen both on and off the record following Friday's hearing

on Atlanta Airport's recent deicing spill were satisfied with the answers

they heard from the airport and state officials.

But they weren't happy that

Fayette County and its water system didn't participate in the informational

session, and they still have questions they feel haven't been answered.

"I am happy with the way

that the meeting progressed," said one resident in an e-mail to The

Citizen. "My remaining concerns are with Fayette County's role in

this."

State Rep. Kathy Cox called

the meeting, she said, with the main objective of examining the state's

role in the matter.

But residents expressed concern

both with the county's lack of participation in Friday's meeting and with

their perception that the county water system was slow to respond when

the spill became apparent.

On the second point, Bert Langley

of the state Environmental Protection Division offered some defense of

the county. "Water systems have all kinds of odor and taste problems,"

he said in answer to a resident's question during the hearing. "There

are a lot of things you do before assuming there is" a major problem

with the water.

"In retrospect, we'd have

all done this quicker," he said.

Water system director Tony

Parrott has said his department alerted the EPD and asked for testing

of the water as soon as it became clear there was a problem.

According to the system's phone

logs, the first call about a "maple syrup smell" to the water

came in Sunday, Jan. 13, ten days after unknown quantities of deicing

fluid spilled into the Flint River, a major source of county water.

Twenty calls came in Monday,

Jan. 14, including one from Patty Culjak of Breckin Drive. Standard procedure

for such complaints, Parrott said, is to flush fire hydrants in the area,

which was done, he said.

Culjak has been the most adamant

in her complaints about the county's response, and said she "begged"

water officials to have the water tested.

The next day, 22 more calls

came in to the water system, and Culjak visited the County Administrative

Complex but was unable to see County Administrator Chris Cofty, who was

in a meeting. According to county records, Cofty sent word that he would

look into the matter immediately, and phoned Parrott soon after to get

information on the problem.

That afternoon, Parrott spoke

with Culjak and then phoned the state Drinking Water Program, and officials

there agreed late that afternoon to have a state laboratory conduct special

testing.

The state officials also advised

the county to begin feeding activated carbon into its system, advice that

was followed immediately. Also, the county shut down its South Fayette

Water Treatment Plant, which draws water from the Flint River, at 6 p.m.

that day.

County Administrator Cofty

said the county has done all that could be done. "We were not notified

[of the spill] by the airport or EPD," he said. "When we were

first notified by residents' complaints we have been above board and taken

steps above and beyond what the state requires," he said.

Staff will recommend that the

county buy some additional testing equipment, Cofty said, to get an earlier

warning in the future if there's any problem with the water.

Since the first samples were

taken Jan. 16, 29 samples have been taken and tested, he said, and the

county also has been regularly testing the raw water going into the plant.

State officials declare flatly that the water is safe.

But earlier testing might have

shown a higher concentration of deicing chemicals in the water, residents

insist, adding that it would have given them more information to help

assess the health risk to themselves and their children.

State Rep. Cox said she believes

the lack of communication between state and airport officials and mistakes

made at that level were the main reason there wasn't earlier testing.

"I called the meeting to make sure the state agencies are doing what

they are supposed to do for my constituents," she said.

And both state and airport

officials admitted, "we blew it," during the meeting Friday

(see related story).

Cox said she invited county

officials to attend and participate in the panel, extending the invitation

Tuesday, three days before the meeting.

But County Commissioner A.G.

VanLandingham said he did not understand that he was asked to participate

on the panel, thinking he had been asked merely to attend the meeting.

"I didn't know that I was on the agenda, and I didn't participate

because I wasn't prepared for that," he said following the meeting.

Parrott said no one ever contacted

his office and, when he found out about the meeting, he was obligated

for the evening.

Cox said she left messages

for county commissioners asking that they come to the meeting, but may

not have specifically said that they should participate. She followed

up later in the week and asked who would be present and was told that

VanLandingham would.

"I said, 'How about somebody

from the water system,' and they said no one would be coming from the

water system," Cox said. "So I said it would be good if someone

could be there who could answer questions, and they said Mr. VanLandingham

would have all the information he would need."

The county was under no obligation

to participate, Cox said, but "I said it would be good if they could

be there to tell people that the water is safe," she said.

She added she didn't think

it would have been appropriate for her to phone the water system and speak

to county employees. "I always first go through the elected officials,"

she said.

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