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Public Meetings to be held for the Tennessee Products Superfund Site in Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee

Release Date: 9/12/2005
Contact Information:

(Atlanta, GA September 12, 2005)  Representatives from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Tennessee Department of Environmental Control (TDEC) and the responsible parties will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, September 20, 2005, regarding the cleanup plan for the middle reach of Chattanooga Creek.  The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. at the South Chattanooga Complex on 1151 West 40^th Street in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

The Remedial Action involves removal of contaminated bed and bank sediments of Chattanooga Creek along an approximate 1.9 mile reach extending from north of the 38^th Street bridge to (where it joins with) the confluence with Dobbs Branch.  Sediments excavated from the creek will be stabilized on a drying bed before being transported for disposal at a landfill.  Following excavation, the creek banks and channel will be restored.  Initial site preparation activities, such as installation of erosion controls and construction of haul roads and the drying bed are underway.  Full scale excavation in Chattanooga Creek is expected to begin in October.  Interested citizens are encouraged to attend the public meeting.

The Tennessee Products Superfund Site is located in the Alton Park/Piney Woods neighborhood in South Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee.  The site consists of coal-tar contaminated sediments along approximately 2.5 miles of the Chattanooga Creek.  Contamination was caused in part, by the former coal carbonization facility (coke plant) located near the creek.  The facility was in operation from approximately 1918 until 1987.  Various companies operated the facility throughout its history.  The first phase of the cleanup of Chattanooga Creek was completed in November 1998.

Persons interested in obtaining information are encouraged to contact Craig Zeller, EPA Remedial Project Manager at (404) 562-8827 or Linda Starks, EPA Public Affairs Specialist at (404) 562-8487 or (800) 564-7577.

CONTACT: Dawn Harris-Young (harris-young.dawn@epa.gov), EPA Media Relations, 404-562-8421