The Glynn Environmental Coalition didn't covet all of an $18.2 million legal settlement recently awarded to Glynn County.

It just wanted about $27,000 worth of kudos.

Daniel Parshley, director of the non-profit coalition, claims it was his group's public awareness campaign that, in part, helped the county win a lawsuit against Allied Chemical - which operated the old Linden Chemicals and Plastics plant, now a U.S. Superfund cleanup site.

Based on that, Parshley thought the Glynn County Commission would approve a financial request from his group.

He was wrong.

The county sued Allied in 1995 for contamination of the Ross Road site, specifically the formation of an underground caustic brine pool that was threatening to seep slowly into the freshwater aquifer.

It was awarded an $18.2 million settlement from Allied in December for the contamination.

But it wouldn't have happened without the help of the environmental coalition, Parshley said.

The coalition's Contaminated Seafood Advisory Brochure - which consolidates all the region's seafood advisories into one pamphlet - was used as evidence in the lawsuit that the site contamination was causing a severe threat to the county's water resources.

"It was a real key part of the case," Parshley said.

Parshley recently submitted a $27,641 budget request to the county to help fund the brochure program for an additional year.

He said the financial award would reaffirm the coalition's part in helping win the lawsuit.

Glynn County government officials currently are in the process of drafting a budget for the 2008 fiscal year that begins July 1, but the environmental coalition shouldn't be expecting a check anytime soon.

The Glynn County Commission's Finance Committee recently voted to deny the coalition's request for funding.

"It would be sort of ironic that (the county) would present to the court that this was a significant threat and then choose not to continue the project," Parshley said. "If the county is going to go around suing people, they shouldn't come knocking on our door again."

Assistant County Administrator Becky Rowell said the commission is not intentionally slighting the environmental coalition.

It's just a tight budget year, she said.

"Part of the discussion has been the that commission is not going to add any new agencies (to the group it normally gives funding to) this year."

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