US Nitrogen Pipeline Challenge Heating Up

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A lawsuit challenging the legality of two controversial Greene County pipelines to the Nolichucky River is heating up as landowners are seeking to gather additional evidence that a permit issued by the state was illegal.
The suit filed in Davidson County Chancery Court was first tossed out by one judge but then revived on appeal. It is now before Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle, who has ruled that she will decide the latest issue without hearing oral arguments.
The landowners, including Don Bible, Ann Calfee and Jack Renner, charge that the Tennessee Department of Transportation unlawfully granted the permit to US Nitrogen and the Industrial Development Board of Greeneville and Greene County.
In the motion filed recently the landowners are asking Lyle to allow them to amend their complaint for the third time to raise the issue of whether the two 13 mile pipelines were installed on a lawful right of way, a requirement under state law.
Lawyers for the defendants are opposing the landowners' motion.The case is not scheduled for actual trial until Oct. 22.
The motion states the amendment will enable the landowners to determine "whether a lawful right of way exists" or "whether the pipelines were unlawfully installed on private property."
The motion states that US Nitrogen refused to answer questions about how the right of way was determined while TDOT claimed it was not their responsibility.
"Water quality is relevant to standing for the riverfront owners," the motion states, noting there were recent disclosures of an impact on water quality both above and below where the pipelines reach into the Nolichucky.
"Respondents were not allowed to use the permit until a lawful right of way was established," the motion continues. "They did it anyway."
A copy of the proposed amended complaint states that the pipelines "were forcibly installed with armed guards in willful disregard" of an agreed order in a separate but related case.
The pipelines are being used to pump water from the Nolichucky for use in the manufacture of ammonium nitrate solution, which is then shipped to US Nitrogen's parent, Austin Powder, for use in making explosives.
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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.
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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.
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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.

Order Summary

The Respondent, Greeneville Water Commission, owns and operates the Denzil Bowman Wastewater Treatment Plant located in Greene County, TN. This Order addresses ongoing NPDES effluent violations, overflows, and pretreatment violations for the period 1/1/15-9/30/17. This Consent Order assesses a total CIVIL PENALTY of $77,625.00, with an upfront penalty of $11,644.00, due on or before the 31st day after execution of the order. The Order assesses a contingent penalty of $65,981.00, contingent upon the requirements of the order being met. The Consent Order assesses DAMAGES in the amount of $45.80. This Consent Order and Assessment requires the Respondent to submit, initiate, and complete an approved CAP/ER on the collection system, complete installation of its UV disinfection system, submit its MOM program, submit annual MOM and CAP/ER update reports, submit and implement a SORP, submit its SOPs, submit its FOG program, submit its public notification for its revised SUO, submit an updated IWS, submit the technical evaluations of its local limits, initiate reporting MORs electronically, submit a final report on the effectiveness of all corrective actions, and achieve compliance with the permit.

US Nitrogen Disputes State Inspection Report

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Officials of a Greene County chemical company are disputing major elements of a detailed state compliance report that found the firm in violation of its permits and state and federal environmental requirements.
In a 25-page response filed with the state Department of Environment and Conservation, Andrew Velo, a manager for US Nitrogen, said the company does not believe any of the items listed in a recent state review "constitute violations of any statutory regulations or permits."
Though the response does acknowledge a number of changes, including the replacement of some equipment and new preventative maintenance procedures, Velo's letter questions the basis for many of the conclusions in the recent state report.
"The report consistently fails to identify the specific applicable statutory, regulatory or permit requirements that were allegedly violated," Velo wrote.
Velo, who is plant manager of the Midway facility, called on TDEC for a meeting for "a frank and open discussion regarding the division's relationship with US Nitrogen and the report specifically."
In addition to denying he made statements attributed to him in the report, Velo said TDEC even had the wrong date for a so-called "operational incident" that the TDEC report states should have been reported to the state agency.
Stating that the incident occurred in early 2017 and not 2016 as TDEC claimed, Velo said the incident was "a minor operational issue" not requiring state notification. According to the state compliance report, the incident resulted in the contamination of the company's steam system.
Velo also disputed the TDEC claim that the company had made operational changes that required amendments to its permit.
The company "has not made any operational or physical changes" requiring permit modification, Velo wrote. He also said that discharges to the Nolichucky River were well within permit limits.
Other items Velo disputed included the requirement for the annual calibration of equipment measuring temperatures, water use and discharge.
In the letter Velo did state that the company had changed several of its standard operating procedures in response to questions raised by the two state inspectors.
But Velo even questioned how long the two inspectors were at US Nitrogen, stating that they were only there for 10 days not the full month indicated in the state report.
In calling for a meeting with TDEC officials, Velo wrote, "US Nitrogen is now and has been consistently in compliance with our permit requirements, so that our discharges are protective of human health, downstream fish and aquatic life and water quality."
"Protection of human health and the environment is of utmost importance to US Nitrogen and we are proud of our environmental and safety record," he concluded.
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Flawed Data Cited in TDEC Letter

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Citing "flawed data" used by state environmental officials, an eastern Tennessee activist is calling on the agency to reopen its investigation of a complaint of odors emanating from industrial sites.
In the letter to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Park Overall of Afton states that the dismissal of the complaint was based on "flawed and inaccurate information."
Overall calls on the agency to reopen its investigation stating that the conclusion that US Nitrogen or Scepter could not have been the source of the odors was based on false assumptions about the force and direction of winds on Dec. 4, the date the odors were recorded by local resident Sherry Arnold.
Overall said it appears that TDEC based its conclusion on the assumption that the wind gusts on that day were the same all day.
She wrote that the TDEC conclusions failed to include actual observed conditions throughout the day in question.
She said that data of actual conditions obtained from another source showed a wide variation from the standard assumed by TDEC and that a 12 hour period of relative calm before the reading TDEC relied on could have caused a build up of emissions.
"The complaint of malodorous emissions during the overnight and morning period of calm winds which immediately preceded the complaint,"the letter states.
Arnold's complaint was one of several submitted to TDEC over the past several weeks. TDEC concluded the reports were unfounded but referred one of them to the state Health Department
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US Nitrogen Drew Record 38 Million from River

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

US Nitrogen drew a record 38.78 million gallons of water from the Nolichucky River during the month of December, according to a report filed this week with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
The report shows that on each of 11 days during that month the company withdrew nearly one million from the river through its 12 mile pipeline.
According to the report the company discharged 5.8 million back into the river.
The water is withdrawn and discharged through 12 mile long pipelines between the 23 mile marker on the river and the Midway manufacturing facility.
The discharge and withdrawal reports are required under the company permits from TDEC.
The December figures and prior reports filed over a 22 month period show the company has pumped nearly 200 million gallons from the river since it began startup activities.
The December figure was by far the highest on record. The previous high, 19.5 million gallons, was pumped from the river in September of this year.
The December and prior US Nitrogen reports show that a total of more than 85 million gallons has been discharged by US Nitrogen back into the river since March 2016, the first month the company filed a report.
Use of water from the river has been one of the most controversial aspects of the US Nitrogen project. Environmentalists have charged the high usage could cause damage to the river.
US Nitrogen, a subsidiary of Ohio explosives manufacturer Austin Powder, uses the Nolichucky water in the production of ammonium nitrate, which is then shipped to Austin in the production of explosives.
Opponents also have challenged the legality of a permit issued by the state authorizing the construction of the dual pipelines. The legal challenge is pending in Davidson Chancery Court.
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