Dear Editor,

ADEM lacking in community protection

On March 22, 2006, I met with a representative from the US Environmental Protection Agency, three representatives from Alabama Department of Environmental Management and a couple of Pelham city employees.

We met at the site where Pelham operated an illegal city burn facility for many years.

It later became an illegal city dumpsite as well.

In January 2005, on the day my residence was full of deadly smoke I called the City of Pelham to complain about the smoke from their burn site.

The Pelham telephone operator told me that 40 other calls came in that morning by neighbors who also complained about the smoke in the area.

The city employee that I spoke with told me that the fire site, owned and operated by the city, was legal.

I pointed out the billowing smoke to the fireman in charge that day at Fire Station Number One, and he too assured me that the city was burning legally.

I emailed the EPA and ADEM about the matter, and ADEM had the fire and dumpsite shut down.

In a report published by the Birmingham News on February 16, 2005, the city of Pelham reported that they were simply burning waste left over from hurricane &8220;Ivan&8221;.

This report was untrue, and on March 22, 2006, Mr. Ken Holler, Director, Pelham Public Works, admitted to the EPA and ADEM that the burn site operated illegally for many years. (The burn site is also visible from Google Earth shots that can be dated from site excavation in process for the new Home Depot on Hwy 31 in Pelham, as being taken 3 years ago.)

ADEM is planning to return to Pelham to take deep soil samples at the dumpsite, since a small amount of visible regulated garbage is still there, and that is illegal.

They need to be sure nothing toxic can leech into the ground or run off during heavy rains that could flow into Buck Creek, which flows into the Cahaba River.

People in Shelby County can complain to the EPA and ADEM and they will take action in cases such as this.

I did that later in 2005 when some illegal construction fires were burning in Pelham next to the city baseball park on Hwy 31, and ADEM had the fires extinguished two times.

The City of Pelham and the construction crew in Pelham were moving waste from place to place (site to site) and that is illegal.

There are also smoke classes that citizens can attend through ADEM and a certification can be achieved that trains the eye to detect illegal emission levels from places such as lime and cement plants.

Currently, ADEM has only two inspectors for all of Alabama, and if more citizens were to take time to become certified and to watch out for illegal emissions we would have less allergies and asthma in our children and adults in Shelby and all Alabama counties.

Ms. Robbie R. Kidwell

Pelha