Board Member's Firm Sold 2nd Parcel for Pipeline

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A company headed by a county board member has sold a second multi-acre parcel to the company building a controversial 12 mile pipeline to the Nolichucky River.
State and local records show that Douthat Properties sold a 13.67 acre parcel along the Nolichucky in October to US Nitrogen for $148,740. That parcel is immediately adjacent to another parcel sold to US Nitrogen by the Douthat firm also in October.
The total price tag for the two parcels comes to a little over $1 million, all paid to the company headed by J.W. Douthat and his family.
Douthat, as a member of the Industrial Development Board of Greeneville and Greene County, voted in favor of a measure sought by US Nitrogen regarding the pipeline project.
The 13.67 acre parcel was sold to the US Nitrogen on Oct. 9,which in turn deeded it at no cost to the IDB, which will own the pipeline and lease it to USN. County records list the market value of the property at $79,900.
The other parcel, which totals 78.7 acres, remains under US Nitrogen ownership, according to the latest available records. The market value of that land, which was sold for $851,251 on Oct. 24, is listed at $495,400.
Douthat's signature is affixed to both deeds. On the deed for the 13.67 acre parcel, he is listed as chairman of the management committee. Two other Douthat family members also signed that deed and are listed as officers.
US Nitrogen officials and Douthat have not responded to requests for comment on the land transactions.
Though he abstained from an earlier vote on the US Nitrogen project, Douthat cast a favorable vote at a July 18 IDB meeting on a motion to resubmit an application to the state for approval of the pipeline project. The motion was approved.
Public records show that by that time Douthat already had granted US Nitrogen an option on property owned by his company.The option was dated Sept. 11, 2013.

The land sales come to  light as the US Nitrogen project is being challenged in the courts.four different court cases including chancery courts in Davidson and Greene counties. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 8 in a case in which plaintiffs are asking a judge to order an immediate halt to the 12 mile pipeline project.
Douthat also served on the board of Old Knox Utility District when that agency was involved in negotiations with U.S. Nitrogen. He resigned from Old Knox on April 30 of this year.
The pipeline will pull millions of gallons of water per day from the Nolichucky to the US Nitrogen plant. The water will be used for cooling towers needed in the operation of an ammonium nitrate manufacturing plant. Water will then be pumped back to the river.
Local officials have indicated the 13.67 acre parcel, now owned by the IDB, will be used for a pumping station.
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County Number: 030

County Name: GREENE

Tax Year: 2015

Property Owner and Mailing Address
	Jan 1 Owner: INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BOARD %LAUGHLIN NUNNALLY HOOD & CRUM 100 S MAIN ST GREENEVILLE, TN 37743

Property Location
	Address:  FISH HATCHERY RD Map:  116 Grp: Ctrl Map:  116 Parcel:  004.39 PI: S/I: 000

Value Information
	Reappraisal Year: 2013 Land Mkt Value: $79,900 Improvement Value: $0 Total Market Appraisal: $79,900 Assessment %: 0 Assessment: $0

General Information
	Class:  02 - CITY City #:  000 City: SSD1:  000 SSD2:  000 District:  04 Mkt Area:  R03 # Bldgs:  0 # Mobile Homes:  0 Utilities - Water / Sewer:  03 - PUBLIC / INDIVIDUAL Utilities - Electricity: 01 - PUBLIC Utilities - Gas / Gas Type: 00 - NONE Zoning:

Subdivision Data
	Subdivision:   MAUDE BIBLE REDIV Plat Bk:   J Plat Pg:   252 Block:    Lot:   2A

Additional Description

Building Information

Extra Features

Sale Information
	Sale Date Price Book Page Vac/Imp Type Instrument Qualification 10/13/2014 547A 1261 QC 10/09/2014 $148,740 547A 792 VACANT WD M

Land Information
	Deed Acres: 13.67 Calc Acres: 0.00 Total Land Units: 13.67  Land Type:   03 - SMALL TRACT  Soil Class:     Units:   13.67

Source: State Assessment Data