ATLANTA — The Flint Riverkeeper and the Southern Environmental Law Center say they plan to the City of Atlanta as the owner and operator of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport because of pollution issues. The organizations said they sent a letter of intent to sue on Wednesday, July 29. “Repeated spills into the Flint River cannot become the status quo,” said April Lipscomb, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center. “We need the City of Atlanta to protect the Flint River at its source for cleaner drinking water, healthier wildlife, and safer places for people to fish, paddle, and enjoy the river for generations to come.” The groups say the airport’s ongoing illegal pollution of the Flint River are in violation of federal clean water and solid waste laws. For years, the airport has repeatedly spilled jet fuel, sewage, deicing fluid, and other pollutants from its stormwater and sewage infrastructure into the Flint River, Sullivan Creek and Mud Creek, according to a July 29 press release. Trash clearly originating from the airport, including luggage tags and ear plugs, routinely flows into the Flint when it rains, the groups say. There have already been three major fuel spills from the airport in 2026, the groups said. In late January, a ruptured fuel pit hydrant spilled at least 28,000 gallons of fuel into the Flint River. Downstream communities and drinking water utilities were not notified about the spill for eight days. In late April, airport…
*This content (including text, artwork, graphics, photography, and video) was provided by the third party(ies) as referenced above. Any rights or other content questions or inquiries should be directed to such third-party provider(s).
