Some 35 people from across Hamilton County made plans today to take petitions to their churches and communities Sunday and next week in hopes of rallying state regulators to force more cleanup at Velsicol's 36-acre idled plant site in South Chattanooga.
"This is not just an Alton Park or South Chattanooga problem," said Jeremy Tallman-Gazaway. "This groundwater flows through [combined sewer and stormwater overflow] pipes to the Chattanooga Creek. And the creek flows to the Tennessee River."
In January, residents learned state officials had agreed with Velsicol on a plan that called for covering most of the site with 12 to 18 inches of clean dirt. They said the site would remain fenced and groundwater would be monitored.
But they said the plan does not call for any more contamination to be removed from the site.
Read more in Sunday's Chattanooga Times Free Press.