Some mornings I go outside to meet the morning freshness and am greeted by a vile and boggy odor. It seems to creep over Columbus before sunrise, from one of the industrial presences south of town.
On some afternoons it’s there on the Riverwalk. One Sunday, I met it in the woods at Plymouth Bluff — a husky stench, sometimes faint, but with hints of uncovered sewage.
It is amazing this continues from year to year, tolerated by a town with no shortage of nose-bearers.
I do not mean to put down anyone’s livelihood, but breathing clear air is a pretty wonderful thing and worth protecting, don’t you think?
Please visit the website scorecard.org and look up zip code 39701. You will see information from the EPA about local air quality, who the largest “contributors” are, what chemicals they are releasing and also how our county ranks with the rest of the nation.
The information isn’t up-to-date, though. The EPA has more recent information, but their site is like navigating a jungle.
One of the biggest polluters on the older list, Weyerhaeuser (Columbus Pulp & Paper or Columbus Cellulose Fibers), increased its waste releases (to air, earth and river) to 1,796,430 pounds in 2011. This includes over a dozen different toxic chemicals and compounds.
Another site (findthedata.com) says that in the past three years, the same industry (CCF) has had seven violations of the Clean Air Act, resulting in $92,500 in fines.
It would certainly be a breath of fresh air if this and other industries adopted the most conscientious practices possible and showed the utmost respect to this area where we are living.
John Imes
Columbus
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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