Excerpt from Rome News Tribute. Read the full article here.
For sale: Bankrupt sulfuric-acid plant on land that is subject to the Georgia superfund law requiring cleanup of metals and volatile organic compounds in the soil and groundwater, a former municipal landfill and a trash incinerator, a former wastewater-treatment plant and five effluent-settling ponds. Bidding starts at $30 million.
The sales pitch may not describe the ideal property, but an uncommon financial arrangement is drawing offers with sufficient money to cover the cost of a complete environmental cleanup. The deal could be sealed later this year.
Ordinarily, when the owner of a toxic site disappears or goes broke in Georgia, state taxpayers get stuck with the cleanup costs. There are so many waiting to be addressed, more than 60 around the state, that correcting the environmental damage is put off for years.