3 days ago
Vine City residents protest planned Georgia Power substation in Westside neighborhood
Community members met with Georgia Power about plans to build a substation in their Vine City neighborhood.
This week, protestors rallied outside the proposed substation site at Foundry and Magnolia streets in Northwest Atlanta.
'When they say get back, we say fight back!' the protestors chanted. 'Shame, shame, shame!'
'Money over people should never be what you want. Profit over people,' said one protester.
There is another substation, a school, homes, and businesses.
Georgia Powers said the substation would boost power to the entire power grid and provide reliability and efficiency for the area's growing energy demands, like the new Centennial Yards project in downtown.
TRENDING STORIES:
On-ramp to I-85 from the Buford Spring connector shut down for bridge cracks
Threat of strong, severe storms Friday night through Saturday morning
Body of missing 17-year-old boater found in Lake Allatoona
But protestors said that because the substation will be built in a predominantly Black neighborhood, they believe the project is a form of environmental injustice.
'We, being a disadvantaged, underprivileged neighborhood, they feel they can come in and set up a power station and there wouldn't be any outcry from the community, but that's not the case,' resident Steven Muhammad told Channel 2's Audrey Washington.
'What do you say to folks who say this is a form of environmental injustice?' Washington asked Georgia Power Regional Director Misty Fernandez.
'We would never compromise public health or safety, and we are confident these facilities do not create a health risk for the community,' Fernandez said.
Georgia Power expects to break ground on the project this month.
Washington asked with all the opposition why the utility company needs to build in Vine City.
'The investment that Georgia Power is making in this substation and transmission line in this neighborhood will benefit all of the downtown area and the westside of Atlanta,' Regional Director of Georgia Power Misty Fernandez said.
