US Nitrogen Ups River Use

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

US Nitrogen upped its use of water from the Nolichucky River in October and also discharged more than one million gallons of waste water back into the river on two successive days, according to a monthy report filed with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
The Greene County firm reported it drew 21.7 million gallons from the Nolichucky River during the month of October. It drew at least some water from the waterway every day of the month, but on the last three days only a minimal amount was withdrawn
According to the report the company discharged a total of 10.9 million gallons into the Nolichucky during the same period. On Oct. 26 and Oct. 27 the company reported for the first time discharging a little over one million gallons back into the river on both days.
The October totals show a substantial increase over the September totals. The company drew 15.2 million gallons from the Nolichucky that month. Discharges to the river in that month totaled 6.8 million.
The company obtained a permit from the state allowing it to utilize the river water without charge for use in the production of ammonium nitrate. It was recently renewed. A separate permit authorizes discharges to the Nolichucky.
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EPA Urges USN Permit Changes

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Citing the need for additional monitoring, reporting and record-keeping, federal environmental regulators are recommending a series of changes in a controversial Tennessee permit for a major Greene County chemical manufacturer.
The permit, known as conditional major, sets environmental requirements for US Nitrogen, the Greene County manufacturer of ammonium nitrate. It was sent in draft form for comment nearly two months ago to the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency.
In a detailed response to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, EPA's Atlanta regional office recommended about a half dozen changes covering everything from visible emissions to setting annual limits on natural gas consumption.
In a cover letter EPA officials said they looked forward "to working with you to address any questions you have regarding our comments regarding the monitoring, record-keeping and reporting requirements."
"We consider our comments to be recommendations to ensure compliance with Title V of the Clean Air Act," the Nov. 6 letter states.
The EPA recommended that the permit be amended to set reporting and record-keeping mandates for monitoring visible emissions at the nitric acid plant. EPA noted that as written the permit does not include a compliance method for meeting opacity standards.
In addition EPA noted that the draft permit does not include any record keeping requirement.
While Tennessee officials had stated that provisions of a state law allow for excess emissions when they are "necessary and unavoidable," EPA recommended "that the permit require monitoring of opacity as appropriate" along with additional record-keeping.
At US Nitrogen's steam generating plant EPA urged the addition of a requirement for the company to record the amount of natural gas used and to limit natural gas consumption to 990 million standard cubic feet per year "and to keep a record of 12 month rolling average of the natural gas combustion."
For the company's anhydrous ammonia plant EPA recommended that US Nitrogen be required to keep a log of heat input on a monthly basis. In addition the permit should require the company to record the amount of natural and purge gas used, according to the EPA.
For the flares used at various points in the manufacturing process, the EPA is urging that there be a five minute limit on the use of flares at the steam generating boiler. Noting that TDEC had stated that weekly monitoring would be inappropriate, EPA said it was unclear from the permit how or when the company would monitor the flares.
EPA recommended that the permit be amended to require "a monitoring frequency appropriate for the source" which could include monitoring the flare only during startup and shutdown.
At the nitric acid plant EPA recommended that the permit require US Nitrogen to maintain electronic records that show the ammonia concentrations.
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US Nitrogen Verdict Slashed

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A $5.7 million jury award to a Greene County chemical firm has been slashed to less than half in accordance with an order by the federal judge presiding over the case.
Records in U.S. District Court in Atlanta show the award against Weatherly Inc. was reduced to $2.2 million as ordered by U.S. District Judge Michael L. Brown.
US Nitrogen sued Weatherly charging that errors by the engineering firm had caused the chemical firm to sustain some $30 million in damages.
Weatherly provided engineering services for the construction of US Nitrogen's ammonium nitrate manufacturing plant in Midway, Tenn.
A jury heard testimony in the case in September and voted to award US Nitrogen $5.75 million, but Brown already had ruled that based on contract between Weatherly and US Nitrogen, the maximum recovery was $2.2 million. Court records show that the $5.75 million was subsequently reduced to $2.2 million.
Following the reduction US Nitrogen filed a motion to have the reduction eliminated. US Nitrogen also disputed the calculation of the recovery cap citing added fees incurred in the construction after the contract was signed.
Weatherly replied by stating that the arguments being raised by US Nitrogen had already been considered and rejected by the judge.
A court hearing has been requested by lawyers involved in the case but the judge has yet to act on the request.
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US Nitrogen Drew 15.2 Million Free Nolichucky Gallons

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

US Nitrogen drew some 15.2 million gallons of free water from the Nolichucky River in September,drawing at least some water from the waterway every day of the month.
Data on the water drawn and discharged to the river was included in a report the company filed with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The permit for use of the river water was recently renewed by TDEC.
The report shows the Midway chemical firm also discharged nearly 6.8 million gallons of waste water back into the river. Both the discharge and uptake pumps are located at mile 20 of the Nolichucky.
The company drew only a minimal amount from the river on five days during September, including Sept. 29 and Sept. 30. It drew over a million gallons on Sept. 16 and just under one million gallons on Sept. 1 and 2.
The discharge report shows that on five days,including Sept. 6 and 7, the company discharged no waste water in the Nolichucky. On six days during September the company discharged more than 500,000 gallons into the river. The highest single discharge day was Sept. 11, when it nearly hit 600,000 gallons.
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TDEC Approves Praxair Permit

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Tennessee environmental regulators have approved a permit for a Greene County firm that supplies liquefied carbon dioxide to the beverage industry.
The permit was issued to Praxair Inc. which is located in Midway on the same site as US Nitrogen, which is awaiting a federal review of its new permit from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
Previously Praxair and Yara North America, also located on the same Midway property, were covered by a permit issued to US Nitrogen.
Praxair will be using carbon dioxide, a byproduct of US Nitrogen's ammonium nitrate production. Praxair will liquefy the carbon dioxide and then ship it to its beverage industry customers.
Under the permit when Praxair is not in operation, the carbon dioxide from US Nitrogen will be vented into the atmosphere.
The permit caps the amount of liquefied carbon dioxide the company can produce within any 12 month period to 90,789 tons.
Praxair must maintain logs showing the amount of carbon dioxide gas received from US Nitrogen per month and the amount of liquefied carbon dioxide shipped per month. Those records must be maintained for two years.
Other limits in the permit apply to particulate matter emissions and visible emissions.
The company must also notify TDEC of any change in ownership within 60 days of any change.
Yara's permit, which was also approved recently, limits its annual production of calcium nitrate to 100 tons per year. The company also stated that it will use a a scrubber for emission control.
TDEC spokeswoman Kim Schofinski said a parallel permit for US Nitrogen is currently under review by the U.S. Environment Protection Agency. All three permits are technically classified as conditional major operating permits.
Local environmental activist Park Overall has registered her objections to the US Nitrogen permit with the EPA.
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Yara, Praxair Permits Progress

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Tennessee environmental officials have issued a revised permit for another company sharing a Greene County site with US Nitrogen LLC, a subsidiary of an explosives manufacturer.
The conditional major source permit was issued to Yara North America, Inc. which manufactures calcium nitrate for use as a fertilizer. The Yara production facility, located in Midway, has yet to be constructed.
Meanwhile Yara and Praxair Inc., which already is located on the same Midway site as US Nitrogen, have applied for amendments to their permits to eliminate greenhouse gas requirement. Both firms also agreed to limit production to avoid stricter anti-pollution requirements for so called major pollution sources.
Praxair produces liquid carbon dioxide for use in the beverage industry.
"The facility is a true minor (source)," the Praxair submission states.
Both Praxair and Yara are seeking to be categorized as conditional major sources rather than major sources, which require stricter regulation.
Praxair has agreed to limit the annual production of liquefied carbon dioxide to 90,789 tons. If that limit is exceeded the company must report it to the state Department of Environment and Conservation. In addition, exceeding the limit could lead to the company losing its designation as a conditional major source.
Yara's permit limits its annual production of calcium nitrate to 100 tons per year. The company also stated that it will use a venturi scrubber for emission control.
As with Praxair, Yara could lose its categorization as a conditional major source if it exceeds the limits set in the permit.
The permit, signed by TDEC's Michelle Owenby, also sets limits on visible emissions.
The developments on the Praxair and Yara permits come following state approval of permits for US Nitrogen, the original occupant of the Eastern Tennessee site. The US Nitrogen permit has now been submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection for its review.
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24 million Gallons Drawn From Nolichucky

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

US Nitrogen, the Greene County chemical company, drew 24.266 million gallons of free water from the Nolichucky River during the month of August, according to a report filed with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
The filing by US Nitrogen shows that the company pumped more than 1 million gallons from the waterway on nine separate days. The highest daily total was 1.2623 million gallons.
In the same report the company reported it dumped or discharged 10.9377 gallons back into the river. The highest daily discharge was on Aug. 30 when 583,300 gallons were discharged from the company's Midway plant. On six days during the month, including Aug.17 and Aug. 18 no waste water was discharged into the river.
The total water withdrawn was slightly higher than the 23 million gallons withdrawn in July, but well below the record 38.7 million gallons withdrawn in December of 2017.
Both the discharge and uptake amounts were substantially lower than the company reported for August. Water withdrawn in August topped 24 million gallons while nearly 11 million was discharged.
TDEC recently renewed the controversial permit that allows the company to use river water to produce ammonium nitrate and other products.
The intake and discharge pumps are located at mile marker 20.8 on the Nolichucky.
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