Several citizens invited the Alachua County Commission to join their class-action lawsuit to get compensation for the physical and emotional damage that comes with living next to contaminated land.
They said they want residents to be permanently relocated and the water supply to be protected.
They’ve mentioned at previous meetings that not everyone can afford to buy another house. Some residents are too sick to leave their houses, and there are fears in the community that chemicals from the contaminated former wood processing plant have seeped into the soil so deeply that they have reached the county’s water supply.
“It will not cost you a penny,” said Maria Parsons, who invited the commission to join them in the lawsuit.
They also praised Commissioners Rodney Long and Paula DeLaney for meeting with citizens about the superfund site issue. They criticized Commissioner Susan Baird for supporting “corporate America” instead of cleanup, but they said they looked forward to speaking with her about the issue.
Previously, Long said people had suffered too long because of the superfund site.
“People were crying after what Commissioner Long said,” Parsons said.
