Staff File Photo by D. Patrick Harding/Chattanooga Times Free Press
The entrance to the Velsicol Chemical Plant along Central Avenue.A public comment deadline for a controversial final cleanup plan at Velsicol Chemical Co.’s former plant site in South Chattanooga has been extended to Feb. 11.
The deadline initially was 4 p.m. Thursday.
Elizabeth Tallman-Gazaway, executive assistant and development director of the Bethlehem Center and chairwoman of the Cherokee Group Sierra Club, said she is thrilled at the extension.
“It shows the state is listening to what the people want, and it gives us time to look at data and make a good case for why they should clean up the site and not just cover it,” she said.
HOW TO COMMENTResponses must be received by 4:30 p.m. CST on Feb. 11.Send written comments to: Roger Donovan, Division of Solid Waste Management, Fifth Floor, L&C Tower, 401 Church St., Nashville, TN 37243-1535Telephone: 615-532-0864By e-mail, send comments to Roger.Donovan@tn.gov.Source: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
Community residents are upset with the plan by the Tennessee Department of Conservation and Environment and Velsicol to cover rather than remove contaminants at the site.
A number of local residents and the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, sought the extension, said Tisha Calabrese-Benton, spokeswoman for TDEC.
“We extended it in order to accommodate those requests,” she said.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry is charged under the Superfund Act of 1980 to assess the presence and nature of health hazards at specific Superfund sites.
At a public meeting in Alton Park last month, officials described plans to put up to 18 inches of clean soil on the 36-acre former plant site where chemicals for pesticides, herbicides and cosmetic and health products were made.
The site would remain fenced, officials said, and deed restrictions would ensure the land could only be used for industry. If Velsicol sells the property, state officials said any future cleanup would be up to new buyers.
Velsicol mapGary Hermann, Velsicol’s senior environmental projects manager, said the additional time will not hamper the company.
“The state will look at [the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s] comment when they work on the permit. We appreciate all the comments that go into it,” he said.
Velsicol still believes the plan is “protective of the human health and the environment,” Hermann said.
“We’ve already removed a lot of material,” he said. “We removed 24 million pounds of contaminated material, and pumped and treated 7 million gallons of groundwater.”
He said only about 100 pounds of contaminants were found in groundwater last year.
“That tells me the groundwater is pretty clean,” Hermann said.
Contact Pam Sohn at psohn@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6346.