USN To Discharge 22,000 Gallons of Test Water

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A Greene County chemical firm has notified Tennessee environmental officials that it is planning to discharge some 22,000 gallons of test water from a 12-mile pipeline running from the Nolichucky River to Midway.
In papers filed this week with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation US Nitrogen LLC said the hydrostatic test water would be discharged 1,000 feet southeast of Lick Creek in the right of way along McDonald Road. The site is about 1,800 feet from the Beulah Baptist Church.
The filing by US Nitrogen plant manager Dylan Charles does not indicate the reason for the test, but the test water is generally used to test for leaks. It can also be used to determine the strength of a closed vessel such as a pipeline.
The 12-mile pipeline is used by the ammonium nitrate manufacturer to draw millions of gallons of free water from the Nolichucky River for use in the manufacturing process.
The "Notice of Intent" does not make clear when the tests will be performed. In response to a question about the timing of the discharge, US Nitrogen wrote Sept. 24, 2020 to April 30, 2021.
The application states that "water flow will be maintained at a rate to minimize erosion."
"Hay bales and silt fence will be used to minimize TSS (Total Suspended Solids)," the application continues.
An attachment to the permit notice mispells the town of Moshheim as Moshiem.
The filing also indicates that the water treatment plant utilized by US Nitrogen is owned by the Industrial Development Board of Greeneville and Greene County and the filing is being made in behalf of the IDB.
The company use of the pipeline has been controversial and resulted in multiple law suits. The company settled one of those suits with landowners who charged the pipeline infringed on their properties.
In addition to the 12-mile pipeline drawing water from the river, a separate 12-mile pipeline is used to send unused water back into the river.
A permit for that second pipeline is up for renewal at the end of this month.
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