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A rainbow sheen of diesel is pictured July 13, 2026, on the surface of Roaring Branch Creek in Columbus, polluting the water.
Credit: Chattahoochee Riverkeeper
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Columbus Aludyne Foundry diesel spill prompts EPD investigation, stop-work order and fines
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In mid-July, while automotive metal casting company Aludyne Foundry LLC was closing its shop and demolishing its business in Columbus, it spilled a notable amount of diesel fuel into Roaring Branch Creek.
The creek runs behind the Cracker Barrel and Starbucks on Bradley Park Drive and north of Belfast Avenue, near the North Columbus Industrial Park.
That discovery — not by a city official but by a volunteer with the watchdog group Chattahoochee Riverkeeper — prompted the Columbus Consolidated Government to issue a stop-work order to Aludyne’s demolition, demand the company pay fines and undergo investigations by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division for violating the Clean Water Act.
“This is why programs like this are so critical,” CRK technical programs coordinator Ashley Desensi told the Ledger-Enquirer.
Desensi is referring to the network of volunteers within the CRK who take water samples from creeks and rivers throughout the Chattahoochee River basin, testing for E. coli or other harmful bacteria that can harm wildlife and people.
When a volunteer who has checked Roaring Branch Creek weekly during the past year conducted their test July 13, they noticed an oily diesel smell and a rainbow sheen on the water, Desensi said.
Immediately, Desensi verified in person by following the smell and sheen to find a stormwater discharge about 300 feet upstream from an outfall sending diesel into the water.
The following day, she alerted EPD and CCG as part of CRK’s emergency response protocol.
During the Georgia EPD site visit July 14, they contained the spill by using tools like oily socks or sorbent socks at the top of the discharge area, according to Desensi.
CCG, Desensi, and Georgia EPD haven’t disclosed how much diesel was spilled, but Desensi said, “It was on the smaller side.”
That number could be revealed when the EPD closes its investigation complaint, according to Georgia EPD communications director Sara Lips.
The spill release stopped as of the site visit July 14, Lips said in an email. The EPD visited July 15-17 and July 21 with remediation efforts continuing during that time.
With larger spills, Desensi said, fish kills can happen, and other wildlife can get into the water and soil. The diesel contains potentially different chemicals that can make you sick, she said.
“For the most part, no one is recreating in this creek, but it leads into Lake Oliver where Columbus gets its drinking water, where Columbus Water Works treats this for us” Desensi said.
On Aug 4, the day after city manager Tyson Begly issued a stop-work order to Aludyne for not having a demolition permit, Judge Susan Henderson fined Aludyne $1,500 for ‘illicit discharge’, according to CCG engineering director Vance Beck.
A history of bad acting
Aludyne came to Columbus in 2013, according to its website, but formed the Aludyne Columbus LLC in 2009, per the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office. The company has nine locations across the world, with a U.S. presence in Michigan.
In 2023, the company was cited for 22 Occupational Safety and Health Administratio violations with $182,344 in penalties that resulted in a hospital visit from employees reporting skin burns and eye damage.
The case closed in 2024 with a settled penalty of $25,813, according to the OSHA inspection.
From October 2024 to February 2025, Aludyne was not in compliance with the Clean Air Act and not in compliance with the Clean Water Act for 12 quarters (three years) as of February 2025, according to U.S. EPA records.
Aludyne did not respond to the Ledger-Enquirer’s request for comment about whether these fines and citations had anything to do with closing the Columbus foundry. Nor did the company answer requests for comment about when the Aludyne officially stopped operating and decided to demolish the site.
However, Lips said their NPDES permit has been inactive as of “January or February since production stopped.”
On April 17, an auction was conducted for the assets inside the foundry.
Aludyne still have an active business license and received an air permit as recently as May 27.
More details will be made available after the case is closed and not under investigation, the EPD said.
This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.
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