Written by Connor Spelta

An estimated 11,699,100 cubic feet of lead-contaminated soil has sat in the yards, gardens, playgrounds, parks, schools and churches of eight neighborhoods in Chattanooga’s southside for the better part of a century. This is the EPA superfund site in your backyard.  

Jasmin Jeffries, the remedial project manager for the site, explained that five years in, there is still plenty of work to be done. 

“It’s ongoing, Monday through Friday, sometimes Saturday,” Jeffries said.

There is a sense of urgency to the cleanup. Dawn Curley, the health program manager for Hamilton County’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, talks about the effects of elevated blood levels in children and the importance of early intervention. 

“It can have negative impacts on brain development. It can cause irreversible brain damage, hearing loss, kidney damage, high blood pressure, digestive disorders, learning disabilities and behavioral problems,” Curley said.  “If a child isn’t tested, and they have these high lead levels for longer periods, it can lead to more permanent damage.” 

The high stakes have led the EPA to focus its resources on extensive sampling efforts.  

“Attention homeowners and tenants living in Alton Park, Cowart Place, East Lake, Highland Park, Jefferson Heights, Oak Grove, Southside Gardens and Richmond Neighborhoods: The EPA would like to test your soil for lead,” reads an announcement on the webpage for the cleanup.  

Testing has shown dangerous levels of lead, copper and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the material though lead remains the greatest threat to the health of the residents.  

According to anecdotal reports, the material consists of remnants of mining and foundry operations in the city during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The companies likely didn’t know of the hazardous nature of the material, and offered it for free to residents as fill dirt.  This saved them costly landfill and transportation fees.  

Site cleanup involves removing vegetation and digging out the affected material down to a depth where lead is no longer detected, up to two feet. Yards, where lead is detected deeper than two feet, have an indication layer (an orange plastic mesh) installed before clean soil is infilled.  The material is then moved to a holding pit at the EPA’s 915 E 38th St. lot before a daily trip to the Bradley County landfill.  

The yard is then backfilled with clean soil and topped with sod, mulch or gravel.  New vegetation is also planted.  CMC Inc., the environmental remediation contractor handling the cleanup, consults the residents on their preferences and does its best to accommodate them within the constraints of their budget.  

The EPA issued an Explanation of Significant Difference (ESD) for the remedial cleanup of the site in September 2021.  The ESD showed an overall increase in estimated cleanup costs from $25.87 million to $113.5 million due to the following findings over the course of the cleanup up to that point:

• A 67% increase in number of houses exceeding the cleanup threshold.
• A 26% increase in average volume of soil removed per property.
• A 155% increase in average cleanup cost per property.

In January of 2024, the EPA modified its guidelines for lead in residential soil at superfund sites, lowering the threshold for cleanup, and increasing the number of properties eligible for cleanup.  Additionally, as they secure permission to test more properties, this number grows further.  

“On average we cleanup about 210-230 properties per year.  There are about 500 properties remaining, however the number of properties requiring remediation will increase,” said Jeffries.  

Though they’ve maintained an impressive pace, not all residents are happy with the cleanup.  Jeff and Michelle Brown of Orchard Knob speak of issues with improper grading and damage to their trees and wood siding.  They attended a community meeting where they learned that other properties that had been cleaned up also had dying trees.  

A property that was cleaned up on the corner of McCallie and Beech suffered a partial collapse of its large retaining wall.  Aaron Miller, while working on the property, explained that the collapse occurred in the aftermath of heavy rainfall from hurricane Helene in September of 2024, about a year after the yard was replaced.  

“I can’t say if the cleanup caused it [the collapse], but it certainly didn’t help,” Miller said.  “There’s a lot of drama about it right now between the city, the owner, and his insurance.” 

The Browns viewed the work as a rush job by CMC to maximize profit. Jeffries, on the other hand, pointed out that this is a time-sensitive remedy whose speed is due to the serious, real stakes. 

“Once we put down the final layer, residents have 30 days to let us know if they are not satisfied with the state of their yard…If we’re in the wrong, we fix it to the greatest extent practicable,” Jeffries said.  “We have to keep in consideration that we’re using taxpayer dollars.” 

Every extra day spent on one resident’s lawn is another day that a child is exposed to lead on another property.  

“Our approach is always to mitigate risk. We prioritize properties with children and pregnant women,” Jeffries said. “We do what we call a pre-remedial agreement… everyone reads through it, so the EPA, the state, our contractor, the resident and everyone signs off…we believe in transparency.” 

Balancing the needs of individual residents against the city as a whole is a fine line for the EPA to walk.  Despite any imperfections, the cleanup is having real, lasting effects on the residents and communities it serves.  

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Meet the Storyteller

Connor Spelta is a senior at UTC pursuing a degree in Communication and a minor in Psychology. He hopes to attend law school after graduation. Spelta is passionate about climbing, hiking, and anything outdoors.  He uses his skills as a photographer and writer to highlight Chattanooga’s vibrant and unique community of outdoor enthusiasts.  He strives to tell stories of individuals and communities who work to break down traditional barriers to entry into outdoor activities as a member of UTC’s Rising Rock program. To reach Spelta, email him at connorspelta@gmail.com.