By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Tennessee environmental officials have given the go-ahead for US Nitrogen LLC to discharge up to 22,000 gallons of a test liquid along a Greene County roadway to determine if there are any leaks in a 12-mile long pipeline.
In a letter sent to Kim Ryans, a US Nitrogen environmental manager, an official of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said discharge of hydrostatic water would be covered under the company's permit.
The Greene County chemical manufacturer had filed notice Oct. 1 that it intended to conduct tests on the 12-mile pipeline from the Nolichucky River to the company plant in Midway. The discharge will be made from a point in the pipeline along the right-of-way of McDonald Road 1,000 feet southeast of Lick Creek, about 1,800 feet from the Beulah Baptist Church.
Vojin Janjic, the TDEC water division manager, noted in the letter to Ryans, that it is up to US Nitrogen to get permission from the Tennessee Department of Transportation for the discharge.
Ryans also noted that ammonium nitrate manufacturer also must submit a report with TDEC on the discharge and it must be submitted no later than 30 days after the discharge has occurred.
US Nitrogen was also asked to indicate whether the test would be a one-time event.
Kim Schofinski, a TDEC spokeswoman said her agency was "not aware of any spills or illicit discharges from the US Nitrogen facility.
"While TDEC does not explicitly require testing for leaks in infrastructure related to permitted facilities, we do require that permittees must properly operate and maintain their infrastructure, which may necessitate scheduled testing for leaks or water loss," she concluded.
Ryans, the US Nitrogen environmental manager, has not responded to requests for comment on the reasons for conducting the tests.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
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