The Augusta Planning Commission voted on several development projects in its meeting on Wednesday, and not without some controversy.
Engineering firm W.K. Dickson & Co. returned before the commission with its petition to rezone more than 500 acres of land on Camp Josey Road and Deans Bridge Road in Blythe from Agricultural to Heavy Industrial. The rezoning request had been postponed from the Planning Commission’s July meeting.
The Camp Josey Property Group proposes building two facilities on the property, a soil mining operation and a recycling plant for asphalt and concrete. Just as in July, several neighbors living in the surrounding area attended the meeting to speak in opposition to the request, mostly citing concerns about how the proposed operations would affect the environment.
“You’re talking about recycling asphalt and oil, and things that can go into the groundwater, which is the only source of water for me and my children,” said Blythe resident Mary Jane Abbott.
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Responding to homeowners’ grievances about the recycling plant contaminating the area, Trey Wingate, Georgia regional manager for W.K. Dickson, said that no chemical process would be involved in the recycling; that it would not impact the groundwater; and that the type of facility proposed is permitted by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.
“The use on this property is recycling. That means material comes in, it is recycled, and it goes back out,” said Wingate. “The materials that will be recycled on the site are all present on the site that we’re standing on right now.”
Attorney Randy Frails, a member of Camp Josey Property Group, also stressed that the planned use of the parcels would not pollute the areas nearby.
“The whole purpose of this recycling process is to ensure that we don’t pollute,” said Frails. “That we don’t contaminate, that we take what we are using in society, recycle this material and reuse it.. It is actually good for the environment, and it’s also good for the economy.”
Commissioner Robert Cooks made a motion to approve the rezoning request, but the Planning Commission voted it down 5 – 4. However, a subsequent motion to deny the request was also voted down 5 – 4.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
