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One of the main complaints that has come with the annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is traffic congestion.
But local resident Donna Presson is alleging that not only does traffic slow her ability to get to her uncle’s property that she now maintains, but that the festival is illegally dumping an unknown liquid on the property.
Staff photo by Josh Peterson - A liquid from this tank on the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival property is allegedly being pumped onto Donna Presson and her uncle Harold Grosch’s land. In the foreground is the fence separating the land.
A tour of Presson’s property Friday, which is behind Grosch Dr. and butts directly up against Bonnaroo’s property behind the main What Stage, reveals a large white tank now half full of liquid on Bonnaroo’s property with a connected pipe running through Presson’s fence and a few feet into her property.
“It smells awful,” said Presson, who maintains the land for her uncle, Harold Grosch, who lives in Georgia. The land used to be her grandmother’s, who passed away. “They know it ain’t their property. I’ve been telling them
about this for three or four years and they said they aren’t responsible for this.”
The Times contacted Jeff Cuellar with AC Entertainment, who serves as Director of Bonnaroo Community Relations Friday. Cuellar took the weekend to look into the situation and sent an e-mail statement Sunday night that reads: “It is our understanding that any water pumped was rainwater from heavy downpours that occurred at the festival site. This rainwater caused flooding in our staff catering area and affected our ability to supply food to people working for the festival. We are not aware of any adverse impacts caused by this pumping, but we are continuing to investigate the situation.”
Staff photo by Josh Peterson - This pipe crosses the alleged properly line between Bonnaroo and Harold Grosch. According to Grosch’s niece, Donna Presson, a liquid is pumped out of this pipe before, during and after the festival. At the end of the pipe is a black shutoff valve.
AC Entertainment produces the annual festival along with Superfly Presents. Bonnaroo just completed its 11th year last weekend.
The property in question is a 39.7-acre tract that Presson says incurs heavy traffic during the festival. She said workers have been found on her late grandmother’s front porch. The tour of Presson’s property also shows several places where her barbed wire fence is trampled.
“I had to ask some of them to get off grandma’s porch,” she said. “It’s workers. They have done damage to my property and Bonnaroo has not offered to help fix it.”
The liquid flowing from the white tank near the catering area of Bonnaroo flows heavily just before, during and a little bit after the festival, according to Presson.
“I don’t know what it is, but you don’t just pump something onto other people’s property. That’s just not right.”
-Josh Peterson can be reached by e-mail at mteditor@lcs.net..
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