Solutia, Inc., announced a community revitalization project for western Anniston Tuesday, but the plan drew immediate fire from some critics who said Solutia should first clean up the area's PCB pollution.
The proposed project, called the Nehemiah Project, would utilize more than 22 acres near the Solutia plant. It would include an economic development center across from the Solutia plant, a farmers' market, and walking trails in the former Sweet Valley/Cobbtown neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods were razed after they were bought out by the company in the mid-1990s due to PCB pollution.
The project has not yet been approved by state or federal regulators.
David Cain, Solutia plant manager, declared Tuesday, however, that the properties are clean.
He outlined his ideas for the revitalization project - which centers on five properties purchased by Solutia in recent years - during a news conference Tuesday morning.
The 22 acres, along with the entire Anniston PCB site, are potentially subject to a Superfund-style remedial investigation, according to Environmental Protection Agency attorney Dusty Minor.
Solutia has already received interim approval from the state for its "cap and cover" remediation of the highly contaminated Sweet Valley/Cobbtown area. The grass-covered area was lined with a geotextile fabric and covered with a foot layer of clean dirt.
The "cap and cover" will have to be resubmitted to state or federal agencies for final approval, regulators said.
Minor said the question is whether Solutia will be able to proceed with the proposed revitalization project before final approval of cleanup measures. (For example, Solutia and the city of Oxford agreed to construct a parking lot and tennis courts over PCB-contaminated dirt without a state- or federally approved final remedy).
Minor said he doesn't know whether EPA's proposed Superfund investigation will require more PCB sampling or cleanup on all or parts of the 22 acres. "We would have to look at that on a property-by-property basis," he said.
Representatives from the city of Anniston and the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce expressed support of the project during Tuesday's news conference.
"We're committed to total community development," said chamber President Sherri Sumners. "What's best for Calhoun County is best for all of us. If there's a role we can play, we're happy to do it."
However, David Baker, head of Community Against Pollution, an Anniston-based environmental group, said he thinks the project is "a joke." Solutia did not ask western Anniston community groups whether they want the project, he said, but instead partnered with the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce and enlisted the support of city council members.
"Isn't ironic that they didn't come to the people they contaminated?" he asked angrily during an interview Tuesday evening.
Baker said Solutia has not removed the threat of contamination from the adjacent PCB contaminated landfills. "They shouldn't build anything out there. The toxic dump sits right on top," he said.
Solutia acquired all the properties included in the revitalization plan within the past decade due to PCB contamination or related legal settlements.
Solutia officials maintain that all five of the included properties are clean of PCB contamination. They said they plan to move ahead with the project - including a walking trail around the storm-water retention pond built during renovations to Solutia's PCB-containing South Landfill - within the next three to four years.
"It is our opinion that no additional investigation will be needed on these properties," said Solutia's remedial manager, Craig Branchfield.
About 25,000 people, mainly including people who live or used to live in western Anniston, are suing Monsanto and its spinoff, Solutia, over contamination of residents' properties and bodies with PCBs, a suspected carcinogen linked to a range of potential health effects.
Some critics said the input of residents of western Anniston was not solicited before the project was announced.
"I'm totally shocked. I had no idea something like this would happen," said Ceola Rudolph, a homeowner on nearby Brockman Avenue who is suing Solutia for property damages.
"The house next to me has been bought by Monsanto, and I live between two empty houses. I definitely have a problem with them doing this
they've moved my neighbors, and they want to move in, that's what I don't understand," she said.
Anniston attorney Donald Stewart, who represents 3,500 plaintiffs in an ongoing PCB lawsuit in Gadsden, said that he believes the remediation is "not complete," especially in Sweet Valley/Cobbtown.
"It's the height of ridiculousness," he said.
The city of Anniston's exact role in the project has yet to be defined. The city has previously joined in the Anniston PCB litigation, requesting expedited cleanup of city-owned property.
Cain said the project could move forward regardless of what goes on in the courtroom, and he asked for community support.
"No matter what happens with the litigation, I'm going to finish this building," Cain said, motioning to the Sunshine Laundry building behind him.
Solutia already has let a contract with Colyer-Lloyd of Anniston to begin renovating the former site of Sunshine Laundry, at the corner of 10th Street and Clydesdale Ave. According to Solutia's proposed plan, the property will be the site of what will be called the West Anniston Business Council. It will be the headquarters of the West Anniston Community Development Corporation.
The 0.3 acre plot, across the street from Solutia, was sold to the company in 2000 and "there is no data to suggest there are PCBs on it," said Branchfield.
In the area known as Cobb Town, near the old Mars Hill Baptist Church, Solutia's plans call for a green space or park, which will include a walking trail and gazebo. Cain said a cabin on the property could be used as a Boy Scout or Girl Scout retreat.
Solutia proposes a farmer's market to be built across the street, on the half-acre parcel that formerly housed Swift Automotive Company. PCBs have been detected on the property, but they were below "levels of concern," Solutia's Branchfield said.
Solutia also plans to renovate the former site of 10th Street Pawn Shop, now completely covered by an asphalt parking lot. Cain said a reuse plan hasn't been identified yet, but ideas include education and retraining opportunities.
Finally, Solutia plans to market a vacant half-acre parcel of property, where the company has already cleaned up a PCB-contaminated ditch. The parcel, formerly known as the Miller property, has attracted some attention from businesses looking for a location close to Interstate 20 and Highway 202, Cain said.
The property is near the proposed business center at 10th Street and Clydesdale Ave.
