LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The Jefferson Memorial Forest became infamous in the 1970s for the valley of the drums, and now, Louisville Metro Council is studying the gully of the drums, a site off the beaten path in the southwestern portion of the park.
“Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation have known about these since the 1990s," Samantha Satterly, of the Gully Project, said.
The barrels or drums, originally dumped in the 1960s in a part of the forest that is in Bullitt County, contained solvents from the painting and varnishing industry. This all happened before the Environmental Protection Agency was established. The barrels became one of Kentucky's first EPA superfund sites.
“So my master's actually started, I focused on the valley of the drums,” said Satterly.
She then turned her attention to the gully of the drums.
"My research tells me that the gully is the original location of the valley of the drums," Satterly said.
Clean up of the gully area in Jefferson Memorial Forest was ordered decades ago and so far the area remains untouched.
Metro Council ordered a study of the area in 2010-2011, and the council has hired the same company to do another study.
“The levels that is really what they are concerned about, from my understanding they are testing for the exact same contaminates of concern, they just want to know how much is left and how do we dispose of it,” said Satterly.
In the last survey of the site, they found arsenic, cadmium, lead and a host of other compounds including PCB's. It has been decades since the barrels were discovered, and Satterly believes there could be other areas.
“Some people would want, would prefer that and we would be no the wiser ..but I think it is time to do the right thing I have been told things in government move slow, but it has been decades”
The results of the new site investigation are not expected to be made public as the company hired to do the work is asking for a non-disclosure agreement.
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