Hyde Park

A Fight Against Neglect and Contamination


Location of Hyde Park in Augusta, Georgia

Introduction

The Hyde Park small suburban community, located south of Augusta, Georgia was established in the 1940s. According to Checker (2002), the first residents of Hyde Park were mostly sharecroppers, who brought plots of swampy and low value land in an area designated by Jim Crow laws with the intention of living the "American Dream". Checker adds that Hyde Park has always been mainly a low income, African American neighborhood. Up until the 1970s, the Hyde Park community did not have proper water, sanitation services, nor paved streets, they pumped water from wells, and grew their own vegetables in their backyards. They also dealt with storm water run-off and flooding issues. The community is surrounded by working and abandoned industrial sites, railroad lines, a landfill, a power substation, and highways (Checker, 2002).

Aerial View of the Hyde Park Neighborhood and Suspected Sources of Contamination

Community Warning Sign

Context

In 1969, the Richmond County Health Department gave an urgent warning to the residents of the community. The warning flyers and signs said things like- do not drink well water, do not eat food grown in personal or community gardens, wear long sleeve shirts and long pants when working outside, do not allow children to play in the dirt, ditches, or standing water, and keep windows closed at all times, if possible (Checker, 2002).

The warnings were a confirmation to the community's frustrations about the lack of involvement of landowners, local, and state governments to address their environmental and health issues and to clean up the area. For years the residents of Hyde Park had suspected that the neighborhood and their land was contaminated by chemicals from factories and industrial sites due to the high incidence of various illnesses in the community. In the late 1960s, a neighborhood association was established as the Hyde and Aragon Park Improvement Committee (HAPIC) to lobby for improvements in their communities (qc.cuny.edu, n.d.). In the mid 1980s, the residents of Hyde Park identified a local wood preserving factory called the Southern Wood Piedmont (SWP) as one of the possible sources, because it had been leaking creosote into the ground for years. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) closed down SWP (augustachronicle, 2007).

Dean (2011) states that SWP had been previously sued successfully by a neighboring white community, however, the Hyde Park community was never informed about the lawsuit nor the findings about contamination. When the residents of Hyde Park became aware about the contamination by SWP, they alerted the media, organized meetings, and acquired legal representation (Dean, 2011). The damage had already been done in their community. Residents in the community and other neighboring areas had already developed cancers, skin diseases, miscarriages, fetal malformations, and other serious health related problems due to the chemical exposure (Dean, 2011). The residents' trees and vegetable gardens were also affected. It is suspected that because SWP was located across the street from an elementary school in Hyde Park, children have a high rate of learning disabilities, asthma and allergies. The low socioeconomic status of the residents most likely prevented most of them from moving out of the toxic environment.

Copy of a Hyde Park Resident lawsuit against SWP Company which was dismissed in favor of SWP

In studies conducted by the EPA and a health consultation conducted by the Georgia Department of Human Resources ⎜Division of Public Health, both concluded the area did not pose any apparent public health hazard for exposure to contaminants in the air, soil, or groundwater (atsdr.cdc.gov, 2008). EPA did not produce any conclusive data proving a link between chemical exposure and the high incidence of illnesses (Checker, 2002).

Table of Chemicals Detected Above Comparison Values in soil samples

Having been neglected for years, the residents of Hyde Parkland, viewed the EPA results as another instance of ignoring their predicament and of neglect by the government. Letter writing and appeals had no effect. Since the community had a background in fundamental activism, they sued and organized protests to expose their plight to the world (Dean, 2011).

Hyde Park residents protests

Remediation

Steps to address the issues included site visits by the Federal Interagency Group on Environmental Justice and official meetings with representatives of the community, the Mayor, Department of Energy (DOE), and other interested parties. These actions led to an application and a subsequent award of a full EPA Brownfields' Grant to conduct an environmental assessment and to clean up the area. With the 1999 grant, the state cleaned up the Goldberg Brothers Scrap Metal Yard at the main entrance of the community. The joint effort between EPA and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division removed 20,000 tons of debris, 12,000 tons of lead contaminated soil, and 181 tons of mercury debris. Studies have found high levels of PCBs, cadmium, mercury, zinc, and lead, all of which, are still considered a threat to the community during flooding and storm water runoff (qc.cuny.edu, n.d.). With the 2003 grant, a follow-up neighborhood-wide assessment and report of possible contaminants was completed (ced.uga.edu, 2008).

Before and after of the Brownfields Project Cleanup at the Goldberg Bros. Scrap Metal Salvage Yard in Hyde Park, GA

Cory Johnson, of the Richmond County Board of Commissioners helped coordinate efforts with the Richmond County Engineering Department to develop the Hyde Park Community Relocation Plan and to stop the environmental injustice. The plan was approved in 2014 and the last Hyde Park resident moved out in 2018 (energy.gov, 2019).

Hyde Park Relocation - Augusta, Georgia

The City of Augusta, GA approved other initiatives to help Hyde Park residents, including a homestead tax credit to owner-occupants, grants to bring homes up to code (e.g.plumbing, electricity, etc), flood waters were redirected away from the community, a retention pond was built, and low-interest loans were awarded for improving and landscaping properties. The city has also demolished derelict properties and committed future funding to deal with ongoing drainage issues (red.uga.edu, 2008). The DOE (2019), reports that the Hyde Park community received assistance from agencies and programs such as, the Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Interagency Partnership, the U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Justice Program, and the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League Environmental Justice Program.

In her thesis, Dean (2011), aptly states " The residents of Hyde Park had fought for so many years to build a community that was filled with hope, that overshadowed the most blatant forms of racism, and they are now filled with another type of racism, environmental" (p. 15). The Hyde Park Community have suffered years of neglect and environmental racism, but they have prevailed by way of perseverance and dedication to continue fighting the cause of environmental justice.

Aerial View of the Hyde Park Neighborhood and Suspected Sources of Contamination

Community Warning Sign

Copy of a Hyde Park Resident lawsuit against SWP Company which was dismissed in favor of SWP

Table of Chemicals Detected Above Comparison Values in soil samples

Hyde Park residents protests

Before and after of the Brownfields Project Cleanup at the Goldberg Bros. Scrap Metal Salvage Yard in Hyde Park, GA