METH STARTING TO AFFECT PROPERTY VALUES IN PUTNAM

Just as it is bad for human beings and the environment, methamphetamine is also bad for property values.  No one wants to live in a place where the dangerous drug has been "cooked" and may have left sickening fumes and residue.

But so far, there are few laws or regulations designed to protect innocent people from moving into a house or apartment where the drug has been found.

Most property owners strive to make sure such a place is clean and safe before it is rented out or sold, but no one knows for sure what the long-term effects of meth might be, officials say.

"In Colorado, there was a case where they seized a meth lab and cleaned up the place and two months later, they checked and found something like 15 times the lethal dose of one chemical on a ceiling fan," said Putnam Sheriff's Deputy J.R.  Scott.

Scott is coordinator of a meth awareness grant and has given presentations on the meth problem at various meetings around the state.

"Some of the stuff in meth can penetrate into porous holes in walls, and though property owners tell us they clean it up the best they can, they really have no guidelines to go by," Scott said.

When sheriff's deputies bust a meth lab, they put an official warning sticker on the door explaining that meth has been found there and that it is a health hazard.

"We put up a sign saying meth has been found and it's no longer safe to inhabit the place.  But there's no law that says the sign can't be taken down and the place rented again tomorrow or sold."

The problem of meth's damage to property value has come to the attention of several officials lately.

For instance, some rental property owners have asked the Putnam tax assessor for "consideration" in the assessment of their property, citing their losses due to the meth problem.

"These property owners have to clean out these places where labs have been found, and they say the value of their property goes down after this happens," said Putnam Tax Assessor Rhonda Chaffin.

She said she has been consulting with County Attorney Jeff Jones "on what to do about this," that is, on whether the presence of a meth lab on a property is sufficient reason to lower the owner's tax assessment.

Chaffin, who is currently president of the Tennessee Assessor's Association, said property assessors from all over the state recently met here in Cookeville, and one topic they discussed was the meth problem.

Nor was it just the question of what to do about assessing property where meth has been found, she said.

"Assessors send field workers out every day to keep the tax rolls up to date, and we are all concerned about accidentally coming into contact with meth at some places we have to go," Chaffin said.

Real estate workers are also concerned about the meth problem and have been working to learn all they can about it, according to Mary Whitaker, president of the Upper Cumberland Association of Realtors.

"We are certainly more concerned about the children affected by this problem than we are with commissions," she said.  "I'm sure that realtors check out a property ( for this problem ) before they list it and sell it."

Banks, which require inspections on property they are financing, are also dealing with the meth problem, a problem which is so relatively new that it is hard to find persons qualified to make needed inspections, Whitaker said.

But the increase in public awareness of the meth problem will help bring solutions, she believes.

Some efforts to warn the public about "meth properties" have been undertaken, but they appear to be inconsistent and inadequate so far, officials say.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration sends out letters to certain persons and offices about properties where meth labs have been found.

Here is such a letter the DEA sent out about one of the largest meth labs ever found here, one on Thorn Gap Road:

"This letter is to advise you, as legal owners/occupants of the property known as 1555 Thorn Gap Road, Monterey, Tennessee, that, as a result of the search of your property, a clandestine drug laboratory and potentially hazardous materials were discovered on said property.

"This letter also serves as a warning that there may still be hazardous substances or waste products at or on your property."

That letter went to the owners ( who have been sentenced to jail terms ) and copies went to the federal EPA, the Putnam Sheriff's Dept., the Putnam Register of Deeds, the Putnam Tax Assessor, and the Putnam Health Dept.

But not every meth case is worked by the DEA, and the Putnam Register of Deeds office has on file only four or five such letters, while the number of meth labs found on properties here is far greater than that.

The property problem is just one of many concerns that legislators are considering as they work to update laws and regulations on meth and meth cleanups.

For instance, 6th District U.S.  Congressman Bart Gordon says he is proposing legislation to help communities "clean up after meth labs have been shut down."

"Currently, there are no standards in place as to what constitutes a clean site," Gordon said.  "The DEA disposes of chemicals found at a meth site, but it doesn't address environmental factors such as leftover chemical residue and potential groundwater contamination."

Gordon said that while arresting meth cookers is important, "the problem isn't solved by an arrest alone."

"The toxic fumes and residual chemicals from the manufacture of meth can linger long after a lab has been shut down.

"Because meth labs have been found in apartments, houses, and hotel rooms, the next occupants of those spaces could put themselves in danger without realizing it."

Gordon is proposing a law which would require putting information about former lab sites on an Internet database.