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Forecasted rain could stir up harmful Smitty's Supply fire response run-off
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ROSELAND - With rain in the forecast for most of the week, there are concerns that pollutants left by the Smitty's Supply fire could be disturbed and released back into waterways.
"Heavy rain is going to discharge all of that effluent from those ponds," said independent tester Scott Smith.
Smith has been documenting the consequences of the fire since week one.
Though the EPA has contained more than 11 million gallons of discharge from Smitty's since August, Smith has been vocal about the potential for a second disaster if it rains.
"We talk about the river banks, where all that has spread, it's going to release more chemicals downstream."
The main concern, Smith says, is any leftover pollutants at Smitty's or in surrounding waterways being disturbed by rain and released downstream. Pollutants like PFAs or 'forever chemicals' that likely came from firefighting foam.
"It's highly carcinogenic and causes a lot of problems at very low levels."
Smith's testing has detected PFAs 50 miles downriver.
In mid-October, the EPA turned over immediate site cleanup to Smitty's, which has been handling it internally and not updating the public.
It's not known how much pollutant remains there or in the surrounding area, which is DEQ's responsibility.
The last update DEQ sent on Nov. 7 said the Tangipahoa River was back open.
According to Parish President Robby Miller, the dams around the facility have held the pollutants back so far.
"It's handled the last couple of light rains that we have had, and it's working. None of it's getting off the site. That's according to EPA, DEQ and Smitty's," said Miller. "They have a storm water control plan that the EPA has approved and said it's as good as it can get."
According to the WBRZ Weather team, there hasn't been a forecast with a week of rain like this since the explosion in August.
Smith says there's nothing homeowners who live on the river can do to prepare, other than stay out of the water.
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