The article “Paper mill land to become green space” (Sept. 24, The Columbian) left something important out. Georgia-Pacific threatened to remove the dams and drain Round Lake in order to bully Camas into taking its polluted mill ditch. According to the final agreement, the city can’t use the space’s groundwater for drinking or “for any school, day care center or any similar use by or for children.”
This is a red flag. Camas has been “gifted” what may amount to a future EPA Superfund site. What else will we find when the mill closes? To what extent have they poisoned our groundwater and the Columbia River? Koch Industries has a long history of violating environmental laws.
I grew up in a housing development built on top of coal mines that had been filled with industrial waste. Many people in my neighborhood got cancer, including me. A year after moving to this area, I was diagnosed with my second cancer. I am 34 and about to start chemotherapy yet again.
If you love your children, family, and your neighbors, you will demand a thorough investigation of the pollution Georgia-Pacific is leaving behind. We must demand they clean up their mess.
