MOULTRIE — There may be merit to allegations of illegal dumping of hazardous wastes at Reed Bingham State Park. Federal authorities dropped a backhoe into one suspected area Thursday afternoon, and there was an immediate sound of scraping metal. Two drums had been unearthed by 4 p.m. and the digging had only just begun.

Federal environmental agents descended upon the park Thursday morning to run tests for possible illegal hazardous chemical dumping. They came in just a couple of weeks behind state environmental agents whose findings are yet to be released. The state agents did not dig up anything.

At one site Thursday, just behind the playground and adjacent to a creek that feeds into Little River, core samples were being taken. 

At the same time, another federal team was about a half mile away at the gopher tortoise field where they were using a magnetic sensor to survey an area where containers of chemicals were alleged to have been buried. This site is also very near where American bald eagles nest. It’s at this site where the metal drums were uncovered.

The Environmental Protection Agency has a direct connection to the park because part of the initial funding was from federal sources. As well, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife agency is connected by virture of the eagle nest.

The state Environmental Protection Division is part of the state Department of Natural Resources. Some of the “Friends of Reed Bingham” organization voiced concern that the state was “investigating itself.” The first report of illegal dumping actually went to the federal agency about a month ago.

At the site where the magnetic sensor was being used, blue flags were being placed early in the day to indicate the potential for metal devices being buried. At least a dozen flags had been placed by 11 a.m. at a location that a park employee reportedly had identified as a dump site. The technology being used at that site can detect metal objects 50 feet deep.

The Observer learned several weeks ago that the alleged wastes included old motor oil and possibly paint. 

The allegations of illegal dumping came in close proximity to the DNR firing park manager Chet Powell. The alleged dumping reportedly occurred on another manager’s watch and sources told The Observer that an employee told Powell about the dump sites after he was dismissed.  

Meanwhile, Powell’s firing has brought a hailstorm of protests from supporters of the park who say that Powell’s leadership has brought the park much success with state, regional and national attention.

Powell’s attorney, Charlie Cox of Macon, said Powell’s dismissal has to do with his objection to the state planning to clear cut timber on the park. The DNR said it did not plan to clear cut,  but The Observer obtained DNR e-mails via Georgia Sunshine Laws that showed clear cutting was indeed a plan. Those e-mails were excerpted in an earlier edition of The Observer and printed in full on its website, www.moultrieobserver.com. DNR has not commented on those communications.

“I think they’re trumping all of this up, and I think the whole thing centers around plans to clear cut timber at the park,” Cox said.

The state parks chief, Becky Kelley, added fuel to the fire when she referred to Powell as “baggage” in a letter to the editor of The Observer. Two other park employees resigned, including DNR ranger Jennifer Glover who said she had the utmost respect for Powell’s leadership, and she said she was worried about what would now happen to the park.

In her letter to The Observer, Kelley said the community should support the new manager, whoever that happened to be — that this person was not a part of the “baggage” of the past. She did not give details about “baggage.”

DNR has alleged that Powell misused state funds although it has not said how. Powell said they are accusing him of things that could send a person to prison, and he wants to address any and all accusations.

The “Friends of Reed Bingham” have collected thousands of names in support of Powell.

Numerous letters have come into The Observer decrying the DNR’s actions and asking that Powell be restored to his position. The Friends also have said that DNR has been uncooperative with them as they try to plan events for the park. Recently, the Friends canceled the Fourth of July fireworks, noting that it required a lot of planning and DNR approval and that DNR representatives didn’t even come to their meetings as has been the procedure in the past.

Except for the letter to the editor from Kelley, the DNR has been quiet about the whole issue.