Tuesday, February 27, 2018

TDEC Reasserts US Nitrogen Violations


By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Tennessee environment officials say US Nitrogen did indeed violate multiple provisions of their permits and the company's response to the recent notice of violations did not fully address the citations.
In a 15-page point-by-point letter, an environmental manager at the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, said the ammonium nitrate manufacturer must submit a revised response and an implementation plan by March 14.
"US Nitrogen failed to produce all applicable documentation or provided documentation that was illegible," the letter to US Nitrogen Plant Manager Andrew Velo states.
Chris Rhodes, TDEC's environmental manager, said in the letter that US Nitrogen also must submit copies of a number of documents that were requested during the nearly one month long inspection of the Greene County facility.
While US Nitrogen had argued that some of the items included in the original inspection report were not really violations, Rhodes wrote that "any failure to comply with permit requirements is a violation."
TDEC did acknowledge typographical errors in its original report and agreed that an "operational mishap" at the Midway facility occurred in 2017, not 2016.
One of the items noted by Rhodes was the observation that US Nitrogen's own data on the biological impact of the company operations showed that both upstream and downstream readings on the Nolichucky River showed a failure to meet the target standards.
"Thus both stations showed some impact to water quality," the letter dated Feb. 27 states.
US Nitrogen, under one of its permits, draws millions of gallons of water from the Nolichucky for use in its manufacturing processes. The impact on the river has been one of the primary concerns of some local citizens opposed to the US Nitrogen project.
Rhodes letter came in response to a 25-page letter from Velo in which he disputed many of the findings in the TDEC inspection report which followed an on-site inspection ending on Nov. 15 of last year.
Later in the letter Rhodes noted that "the US Nitrogen facility is in close proximity to wetland areas and other water bodies" so spills must be reported.
Other points in the Rhodes letter, which was dated today (Feb. 27), include the failure of the company to perform checks on water flow meters at least once a year and the failure to even follow the company's own Standard Operating Procedures.
Some of those SOPs, the letter states, were inadequate to begin with.
Rhodes's letter also questions why the company says it needs some six months to complete various corrective action plans. The letter calls some of the company responses "confusing."
"Facility SOPs must accurately reflect appropriate reporting procedures," Rhodes wrote, adding that related documents requested during the inspection were not provided.
TDEC also asked US Nitrogen re-evaluate a drainage area during storm conditions "to ensure no discrete conveyance for storm-water existed. Rhodes added that the claim by the company that related data was the most current available was "fallacious."
Still other deficiencies included missing records and the failure to provide certifications and signatures of company officials on those certifications.
Along with a corrective action plan and a schedule to implement corrections, the letter instructs US Nitrogen to submit a copy of its Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Friday, February 16, 2018

US Nitrogen Activity Dived in January


By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Use of the Nolichucky River by Greene County's US Nitrogen dropped considerably in January, according to a report filed this week with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
The monthly report, which is required under the chemical company's state permit, shows that on 14 days during the month no water was pumped out of the Nolichucky for use in the production of ammonium nitrate.
The report shows no water usage from Jan. 1 to Jan. 7, from Jan 12 to 15 and from Jan. 22 to Jan. 24.
The report shows that the company discharged no water in to the river on 22 days of the month.
Overall US Nitrogen pumped 8.9 million gallons from the river during the month while discharging a total of 4.2 million back in to the Nolichucky.
The January report is in sharp contrast to the December report. During that month the company pumped a record 38.78 million gallons from the Nolichucky while discharging 5.8 million back into the waterway.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Greeneville Water Fined For Violations



By Walter F. Roche Jr

The Greeneville Water Commission has been fined $77,350 for a series of violations at the Denzil Bowman Wastewater Treatment Plant, according to the state Department of Environment and Conservation.
A consent order posted on the DEP web site states that multiple violations occurred between Jan. 1, 2015 and Sept. 30, 2017. The violations involved effluent limits and pretreatment requirements, according to the notice.
Under the consent agreement the water commission must pay an upfront fine of $11,644. The remainder, called a contingent penalty of $65,981, will come due if the commission fails to make a series of improvements by agreed deadlines. They include the installation of an ultraviolet disinfection system and submission of a series of reports on the progress of the other improvements.