COLUMBIA, Tenn. (WTVF) — In this region on the rise, some city leaders are worried that some homes are about to be built above the underground chemical waste.
The controversy surrounds more than 70 acres in Maury County, the site of an old Monsanto chemical plant from decades ago.
“I started doing some research on the Monsanto property out there, and found out there is all kinds of things that have been buried all over the property,” said Maury County Commissioner Sue Stephenson.
Last month, the Maury County Commission approved rezoning that land to allow homes to be built, but on Monday Stephenson wanted to undo that action because of what could still be beneath Monsanto’s former land.
“They decided the safest thing to do for the people that worked out here was to just dump and bury whatever was out there and that’s what they did,” Stephenson said. “Nobody’s home needs to be on top of that.”
But at the commission meeting, the county attorney said since the land had already been rezoned for homes, the county would be sued if they rescinded that zoning.
In the end, county leaders voted to remove the item from the agenda entirely, keeping the zoning as it now is, as it prepares for homes to be built there.
