Judge OKs Amendments to Complaint

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Opponents of a controversial state permit for a chemical company won a partial victory Friday as a Davidson Chancery Court judge ruled that the six eastern Tennessee plaintiffs can file a series of amendments to their pending complaint against the state Department of Transportation.
Judge Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled that the group can add the allegation that TDOT is responsible for determining the location and width of a proposed right-of-way before granting an easement for that right-of-way.
At issue in the case is a permit TDOT granted for US Nitrogen to install a 12-mile dual pipeline from Midway to the Nolichucky River. The plaintiffs contend the permit never should have been granted and that the pipeline has now been installed, at least in part, over private property.
The judge also granted the plaintiffs the right to amend their complaint to include the allegation that TDOT did not follow its own rules in granting the permit.
The judge turned down the request to add any other additional charges to the complaint.
The judge deferred action on another plaintiff request seeking to force US Nitrogen to provide detailed information on how they determined the location of the rights of way along two state roads.
The six plaintiffs include two landowners who contend the pipeline encroached on their property. The Davidson judge indicated her final decision in the case will hinge on the outcome of a parallel case in Greene County courts.
Under the disputed permit US Nitrogen has been pumping millions of gallons of water from the Nolichucky for use in the production of liquid ammonium nitrate.
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