Gadsden Mayor Craig Ford, has recently called out the EPA, over the slow response to cleaning up hazardous waste, still stored on the north side of the city – near homeowners.
In a recent News Release Ford said “There the poison still sits. There the facility sits; they’ve known about this issue for years – they flew in to tell us about it, and then they flew back out all while residents eat, sleep, and breathe within feet of the property.” Techtrix – is a former electroplating and metal finishing facility in Gadsden; the closed plant sits on Plainview Street.
Following the death of the Techtrix owner, Carl Weaver – back in March, his estate informed the EPA that they would be unable to properly clean up and close the site. Since then, the EPA has performed an assessment of the site in July, and a follow-up visit in August. Chuck Berry, on-scene coordinator with the EPA – informed the Gadsden City Council in September, the agency estimated around 100,000 gallons of waste on the site, and around 30,000 gallons of that contains cyanide.
Clean up of the site is expected to begin this month – and the EPA is set to hold a meeting on October 15th – with the Gadsden/Etowah County EMA (Emergency Management Agency) to discuss the cleanup. But to Ford, the EPA hasn’t been moving quickly enough. He stated: “The only thing I know the EPA has done the past few weeks – is sit around on Zoom chats with the city council member from District 3 talking about the cameras and fences they might bring in one day,” Ford says – “Cameras and Zoom calls aren’t cleaning up those chemicals, and they sure as hell aren’t protecting the people of Gadsden.”
But Larry Avery, a Gadsden City Councilman representing District 3, said this statement is “100% inaccurate.” Avery said that he’s met with the EPA, and had no issues communicating with them or getting information and Ford and City Administrators were invited to participate. As part of an inspection, the EPA reportedly did find contaminants on the site – including cyanide, heavy metals, and acids; however reportedly the risk to the surrounding areas from that site is relatively low according to the EPA.
We’ll have more on this story as it continues to develop.
The EPA’s Community Meeting is set for October the 15th from 5:30 until 6:30pm at Mission Baptist Church in Gadsden.