Residents of the neighborhoods around the contaminated former wood processing plant, the Cabot-Koppers Superfund site, shared their stories and their disappointment about the Superfund cleanup plan at recent City and County Commission meetings.
Tuesday, Sharon Sheets, who lives three houses away from the site, said she feels like she’s stuck because she can’t afford to buy another house and no one will buy a contaminated home.
“I can’t even think of selling my home,” she said. “I will probably live and die there like so many others.”
Anne Lowry spoke at Tuesday’s meeting and Thursday’s City Commission meeting. She said she’s had two surgeries for cancer and contracted multiple sclerosis since she moved to her neighborhood.
She called the residents who are still living near the superfund site “refugees.”
There wasn’t much that the Commissions could do other than listen.
County Commissioner Rodney Long said he wants to send a message to the EPA at some point to show how the county has been affected.
“It is ridiculous how this community has been jerked around for decades,” he said.
The City and County Commission approved the EPA’s decision, which was recently released. However, the Commission didn’t have the choice to change the decision, and the staff cautioned that rejecting the decision could lead to another 10-year delay.
