Officials investigating 'petroleum-based product' near the Flint River at the Atlanta airport

Officials are investigating after a petroleum-based substance was spotted near the headwaters of the Flint River, close to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

In a statement, airport officials said they are “actively assessing the situation” while working with environmental agencies to identify the source and determine next steps.

Emails obtained by GPB show officials sent a preliminary alert Wednesday afternoon after an “unidentified petroleum-based product” was observed where the river daylights near the airport.

According to that email, the material appeared “weathered” and may have mixed with hydraulic fluid. Officials said it appeared to be contained near the base of the airport. No compromised airport infrastructure had been identified.

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division confirmed it was contacted by the City of Atlanta on Wednesday and is now investigating to identify the substance and its source. A spokesperson for the agency said in an email “an additional confinement boom was placed in the area Wednesday and there are mitigation efforts ongoing.”

EPD crews were on site, with airport spill response teams en route at the time of the notification. It’s not yet clear what the substance is, how much was released, or where it came from.

The email sent by Wesley Bowen, assistant director of planning and environmental for the airport, said the alert was sent “out of an abundance of caution for downstream water sources.”

The development comes as a separate investigation remains underway into a Jan. 30 jet fuel spill at the airport. 

As GPB previously reported, that leak went undetected for eight days and led to the recovery of more than 150,000 gallons of petroleum-contaminated water, including an estimated 28,000 gallons of jet fuel, triggering a state of emergency and a temporary “Do Not Consume” advisory for the City of Griffin.

For Gordon Rogers, the latest incident fits into a broader pattern. Speaking with GPB earlier this month, he said issues at the airport extend beyond a single type of spill.

“We’ve been talking with and working with [the airport] for well over a decade. It’s not just jet fuel,” Rogers said. “It’s also sewage failures in their sewer system and it is also PFAS. So it’s a lot of things and it’s happening a lot.”

In the email, officials said the newly observed material “does not appear” to be related to that earlier incident.

This is a developing story and will be updated.