A North Georgia battle has erupted as the City of Calhoun, known for its extensive carpet manufacturing, faces federal lawsuits accusing it of polluting the environment with toxic substances. The legal tussle revolves around the pernicious “forever chemicals,” scientifically referred to as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which have found their way into the land and water, courtesy of the city's wastewater treatment plant, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.
While the city acknowledges its plant isn't equipped to scrub PFAS from wastewater, it instead points fingers at the chemical manufacturers and carpet companies, calling for them to be responsible for the contamination, and in a move to shift the legal burden has sued several of the industry's giants, Calhoun’s approach contrasts with claims filed last week by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) on behalf of the Coosa River Basin Initiative (CRBI), insisting the city is accountable for allowing PFAS-infested sewage sludge to seep into the environment, contaminating local water sources including Calhoun's main water supply, the Coosawattee River; the SELC argues that the sludge fields are violated federal law, they claim.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Calhoun’s finished drinking water has shown levels of PFAS chemicals ranging from 10 to 60 parts per trillion, starkly above the proposed federal standard of 4 parts per trillion. The SELC and CRBI are calling for substantial daily penalties against the city for each Clean Water Act infraction, potentially amounting to tens of thousands of dollars, while the defendants in their lawsuit, including Moss Land Company which allowed the city to spread the contentious sewage sludge, plead ignorance and demand the city and manufacturers clean up the properties and compensate for the damages.
"CRBI has chosen to be adversarial to Calhoun, instead of working as a partner with Calhoun to hold those chemical and carpet manufacturers responsible," the City of Calhoun released a statement in defense of its position, suggesting a disillusionment with the lawsuits targeting them instead of the polluters, but the contention of the CRBI insists that industrial entities cease dispatching wastewater tainted with PFAS to the public treatment plant, expressing a hope to work toward solutions rather than dwell on the blame game that has now spilled into the courtrooms. Jesse Demonbreun-Chapman, Executive Director and Riverkeeper for CRBI, emphasized the need for action “They need to make these carpet manufacturers take responsibility for these chemicals and treat them before they even enter the public sewer,” he told FOX 5 News.
As lawsuits pile up and fingers point in every direction, residents like Kitt Brooks, living in the shadow of "Sludge Field 11," face the daily reminder of an invisible threat and the challenging quest for a remedy that will ensure their land, dubbed "Evelyn's Eden" after her mother, doesn't become synonymous with a toxic wasteland. "Is that going to become famous? Sludge Field 11? Our beautiful land is going to be Sludge Field 11. That's so sad," Brooks expressed her dismay in an interview with FOX 5 News.
