A golf course will become a massive MS Coast subdivision. But there’s a problem: arsenic

Residents who live near a planned beachfront development in Gulfport are concerned after arsenic was found in the soil and groundwater where more than 400 homes are slated to be built.

Arbor Sites, LLC, a Florida-based construction company, has plans to develop the Great Southern Club Golf Course property into a massive housing development. The general plan for the project was presented to the Gulfport Planning Commission and approved by a 4-3 vote on June 23.

The site is split into two sections by railroad tracks, and Arbor will begin on the south side with the development of 177 homes.

The project is unlike any Abror has done on the Mississippi Coast. Their previous developments are all upscale apartment complexes in Long Beach, Gulfport, Biloxi and D’Iberville.

Arbor says it is following all of the rules in place by the city of Gulfport and will bring a development of modern homes that the Coast has not seen before.

And while neighbors say they are not opposed to new housing where the old golf course operated for decades, they will fight to ensure environmental guidelines are followed to protect their health and safety.

Concerned about potential contamination at the building site, residents contacted the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. The agency required Arbor to conduct testing for chemicals in the former golf course’s soil and groundwater.

Arsenic contamination at old golf course

MDEQ’s Groundwater Assessment Remediation Division (GARD) sent a letter to Gordon Thames, president of Arbor, in July.

The letter said that the public had notified the department of the golf course’s historic use of pesticides and herbicides, and explained that golf courses are associated with arsenic mercury contamination.

“Whereas these chemicals at golf courses were likely applied over time under legal allowances for commercial use, the accumulation of such chemicals in soils and water over time may present increased human health exposure and risks during construction activities or for future residents,” the letter said.

The report recommended that a Phase 1 Environmental Assessment be done and submitted to MDEQ for further review.

A follow-up letter from October stated that some chemicals were found at the site.

The report, prepared by SEMS Inc., detected “arsenic, dieldrin, and chlordane at levels above the MDEQ Target Remediation Goals (TRGs) at multiple sampling locations in soil and in groundwater.”

Because of these detections, MDEQ will require additional testing to determine the extent of the contamination. Remediation may be required before Arbor is allowed to redevelop the land.

Gulfport residents speak out for soil testing

Residents of surrounding neighborhoods, including Venetian Gardens, Mockingbird Lane, Southern Circle, and East Beach Boulevard, have joined forces and appealed to the Gulfport City Council to hear their concerns about the development.

Locals from these communities have formed what Mockingbird Lane residents Ken and Beth Kroupa describe as a “grassroots movement.”

Ken and Beth learned through their neighbors that there was a concern about the age of the golf course and the number of heavy metals and pesticides that were used to maintain it in the past.

Beth Kroupa said that she and many other neighbors support having development on the Great Southern course. Their concern is that the development is going to happen without proper care for the pollutants that have been discovered in the soil and water.

“We want development, but we want the right, responsible kind of development for our neighborhoods. We don’t want to have problems because things are overlooked,” Beth Kroupa said.

“It’s our health, and it’s our safety,” Ken Kroupa added.

The Kroupas said they hope Arbor embraces the MDEQ recommendations.

Residents want to protect dolphins, sea turtles in Gulfport

Another concerned neighbor, Shirley Godsey, said she’s concerned over Arbor’s development plan for the site.

“I am one of hundreds of people concerned about the negative impact of the Arbor development’s approved general plan on the communities surrounding the former golf course… The people in this area are concerned about their health, safety and welfare.”

Godsey said that community members are organizing, holding meetings, and developing a website that will contain information about the movement and keep neighbors informed.

Community members are gathering this Thursday to share information and go through the items on a petition that they have created.

The petition is addressed to the Gulfport City Council and requests that the council reject permits for Arbor’s development until their seven issues of concern have been addressed:

• Excessive density and the new development not conforming to the character of the neighborhood

• Traffic congestion resulting from excessive density and a lack of infrastructure to accommodate construction vehicles and vehicles from new property owners of the development

• Chemical contamination resulting from disturbance of the golf course soil affecting those working and living nearby

• The installation of pipes dumping contaminated water from the development site into the Mississippi Sound

• Threats to the Least Tern, Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles and dolphins

• Destruction of protected historic trees

• Displacement of wildlife habitat

Developer pledges to follow MDEQ recommendations

Abor’s president, Gordon Thames, said that Arbor’s plan for development is moving forward exactly in accordance with current zoning laws and development statutes for the city of Gulfport, and that his company has asked for no exemptions.

“MDEQ will make some recommendations and we intend to follow all of those,” Thames said. “This is all being handled by our engineer, in coordination with MDEQ. There are fairly simple steps to remedy it, and it will be done in accordance with what they recommend.”

Thames believes that this project will have great value for the local community and Gulfport as a whole.

“(The houses) are going to be more modern, more storm resistant, better insulated, more energy efficient, and you have a nice planned neighborhood where even children can go down and access the beach and all of the nice things that are right there.”

The development site sits two blocks from the line between Gulfport and Biloxi, and the homes that are built there will overlook the Gulf Coast.

“I think it’s going to be one of the nicest, newest things to be available regarding housing on the Gulf Coast… with homes built to the newer codes,” Thames said. “I wish more people could see it as a win-win.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2022 at 6:00 AM.