State officials and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport are facing criticism for a lack of information following a Friday jet fuel spill that contaminated the Flint River, which provides drinking water to 400,000 people south of Atlanta and in central Georgia.
Cleanup continues, authorities said, but neither the Georgia Environmental Protection Division nor the airport has released information on the volume or duration of the leak that led Gov. Brian Kemp to declare a state of emergency Friday. The silence has drawn criticism from environmentalists and residents in nearby Griffin who report that tap water still smells of fuel despite local officials reporting the water is safe to drink.
“Information is not very forthcoming from the airport. That’s disappointing,” said Flint Riverkeeper Gordon Rogers. “We don’t know the duration of the spill. We don’t know the volume of the spill. We’re just left to speculate.”
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