Anniston Star
September 26, 2002

CAP to protest Nehemiah Project today

By Sara Clemence
Star Staff Writer

The neighborhood redevelopment project that was meant to ease tensions between a contaminated community and an embattled chemical company will be the target of protests today. The local activist group, Community Against Pollution, will march at the opening of the West Anniston Business Center, the president of CAP announced at a press conference Wednesday.

The former laundromat is the centerpiece of the Nehemiah project, a revitalization plan sponsored by the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce and Solutia.

CAP originally supported the effort, but changed its position because of Solutia's recent actions in court, said David Baker, president of CAP. The Nehemiah steering committee also does not sufficiently represent the west Anniston community, he said.

"We embraced the idea because we thought we were moving forward," Baker said. "But I can not feel comfortable sitting at the table with them when people still live in horror."

Thousands have filed lawsuits against Monsanto and its spinoff, Solutia, alleging that the companies polluted their bodies and properties with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. PCBs are suspected to cause cancer in humans, and many people blame their health problems on

The Nehemiah plan includes the business center, a farmers' market and a recreational area. The project is the brainchild of Solutia plant manager David Cain, and is named for a Biblical figure who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days.

"I can't even speculate on the motivations of the protesters, but we welcome anybody to participate in this development and move this community forward," said Cain.

The company says it has spent more than $49 million on remediation efforts in and around the plant.

But residents say the wounds cannot be healed while Solutia and Monsanto attorneys continue to hold up the lawsuits. In August, Monsanto attorneys asked the Alabama Supreme Court to put the best-known case, Abernathy v. Monsanto, on hold. The court agreed.

Baker estimated that more than 100 people would protest the opening. They had short notice, he said, since CAP changed its position only over the past week in response to community outcry.

"This is not CAP's agenda; this is the community speaking," Baker said.