ATLANTA – Members of the DeKalb County Legislative Delegation, co-chaired by State Representatives Doreen Carter (D-Lithonia) and Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates), recently submitted a letter to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources requesting that the Georgia Environment Protection Division (EPD) revoke the solid waste permit issued for Metro Greene Recycling’s new plant. The proposed plant would be located at 5152 Snapfinger Woods Drive in Stonecrest, which is a residential area.
“The Georgia Environmental Protection Division has a duty to honor and uphold the law and to protect the environmental and public health of all Georgia residents,” said Rep. Drenner. “The DeKalb County Legislative Delegation is dismayed by the EPD’s decision to violate this duty and issue a solid waste permit that never should have been issued to Metro Green Recycling for a large industrial facility in the middle of a Black neighborhood. I hope that the EPD can stand in support of the public by revoking this permit immediately.”
“The reason that DeKalb County determined Metro Green’s facility is inconsistent with the County’s Solid Waste Management Plan is because the county was trying to protect south DeKalb, which is primarily African American, from becoming a dumping ground for solid waste handling facilities once again,” said Rep. Carter. “Black and poor communities have suffered for far too long from polluting, noisy and unsightly industrial and solid waste facilities that the EPD has permitted to operate in their neighborhoods.”
In the recent letter, the DeKalb County Legislative Delegation addresses the EPD’s permitting process for the proposed recycling plant. These legislators believe that the EPD should have halted the permitting process after being made aware that Metro Green’s proposed plant was not aligned with DeKalb County’s Solid Waste Plan. The letter highlights recent constituent requests, legal filings and public records that claim that Metro Green Recycling failed to receive verification that the proposed recycling plant was consistent with county’s plan, and as a result, the recycling company sought verification from the City of Stonecrest to sign a letter which allegedly falsely affirms consistency with DeKalb County’s plan.
“We need to address the process that was used to obtain the state permit,” said State Representative Viola Davis (D-Stone Mountain), who is a member of the delegation.
The letter also explains concerns regarding the history of environmental racism in minority communities and that if this permit remains valid, it would set a potentially dangerous precedent for businesses to avoid consulting with DeKalb County about its Solid Waste Plan. This letter states that the reason that DeKalb County determined Metro Green’s facility is inconsistent with the county’s plan to protect predominantly Black communities in south DeKalb from becoming over saturated with solid waste handling facilities. As such, the legislators stand in solidarity with the county’s decision to deny verification for the proposed plant.
Furthermore, the legislator’s addressed their concerns that constituents in unincorporated DeKalb County and the City of Stonecrest were unaware that a solid waste handling facility was being considered for their neighborhoods. Reps. Davis and Carter spoke to a lack of public notices about the proposed recycling plant apart from small, local papers. The legislators are calling on the EPD to actively verify and ensure that the people who will be affected the most by the industries it regulates have access to this information.
Representative Doreen Carter represents the citizens of District 92, which includes portions of Rockdale and DeKalb counties. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2015 and currently serves on the Code Revision, Education, Industry and Labor, Small Business Development and Special Rules committees.
Representative Viola Davis represents the citizens of District 87, which includes portions of DeKalb County. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 and currently serves on the Insurance, Interstate Cooperation and Science and Technology committees.
Representative Karla Drenner represents the citizens of District 85, which includes portions of DeKalb County. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2000 and currently serves on the Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications, Health & Human Services, Natural Resources & Environment, Rules and Small Business Development committees.
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