Excess Nitrates in US Nitrogen Runoff

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Excess levels of nitrates have shown up in runoff water at the site of a Greene County chemical firm, according to a report filed with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
Officials of US Nitrogen reported the excess in an annual report on storm water runoff from its Midway manufacturing facility. The primary product produced by the company is ammonium nitrate.
The company told TDEC that it plans to investigate to determine the source of nitrates and nitrites. While the "benchmark" level of notrates is .68 milligrams per liter, the level in the company tests was 1.18 milligrams per liter.
"The source is suspected to be a 20 foot long trench which was installed in early 2019 to collect storm-water from the rail loading area," the report from US Nitrogen's manager, Dylan Charles states, adding that the trench was used to re-direct water into an underflow which discharges to a drainage basin.
"We will conduct an investigation in this area to determine if this is the likely cause," Charles wrote.
The excess nitrates have not been listed in prior annual reports from the company.
Charles also reported that excess levels of aluminum and magnesium turned up in tests from other locations on the plant site. Those excesses have been reported previously, as Charles noted.
The company has attributed those findings to "background concentrations and/or water flowing over rock." The company official noted that excess levels of magnesium have shown up in the Nolichucky River.
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US Nitrogen Files River Report

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

US Nitrogen LLC continued a reduced rate of river water use in December, according to a report filed with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
The Greene County chemical firm reported it drew 12.7 million gallons from the Nolichucky River in December and on more than a dozen days it drew minimal amounts. The monthly report, which is required under the company's state permit, shows the Midway firm discharged about six million gallons back in to the river during December. Discharges were minimal on a dozen days during the month.
In contrast the com[any reported that in October it pumped 21.7 million gallons from the river while it discharged 10.9 million gallons.
The December totals are similar to those the company reported for November when 12.3 million gallons were pumped from the river for use in the production of ammonium nitrate and other products.
A subsidiary of Ohio based Austin Powder, an explosives manufacturer, US Nitrogen is allowed to use the river water under a special permit that was recently renewed.
In other recent action TDEC officials responded to complaints from two local citizens who had complained of excessive visible emissions from US Nitrogen.
TDEC dismissed both complaints after site visits and a review of company records. The agency concluded the emissions were primarily water vapor. A complaint against the Old Castle Building Envelope Company also was dismissed.
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TDEC Cites Pilot Travel Twice.

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Tennessee environmental officials have cited Pilot Travel, the truck-stop firm controlled by the Haslam family, for violations of its permits at locations in Knox and Giles counties.
In two notices, both dated Jan. 9, the state Department of Environment and Conservation imposed fines totaling $56,235 for violations of the Water Quality Control Act. The company must pay $11,247 immediately. The balance becomes due if the Knoxville based firm fails to meet deadlines for taking corrective action.
The Knox County Pilot location was cited for exceeding effluent limits for multiple reporting periods and the failure to submit required discharge monitoring reports.
According to the TDEC notice the excess effluent came from treated bay wash water that contained oil, grease and e.coli and flowed into an unnamed tributary of Turkey Creek.
The site was covered under a TDEC permit issued Aug. 1, 2018.
Some of the violations of the permit were self-reported by Pilot, but others were not.
The Giles County location was cited for exceeding the limits of a permit issued on Sept. 1, 2017 capping the amount of total suspended solids flowing into an unnamed tributary of Richland Creek.
The family of former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam still has a controlling interest in the firm.

TDEC Rejects EPA Recomendations On USN

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Tennessee environmental regulators have rejected a series of recommendations from the U.S. Environmental Protection to require additional, montoring, reporting and record-keeping by US Nitrogen LLC, a major Greene County chemical firm.
In a seven-page document made public this week, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation stated that the EPA recommendations are neither required or necessary. The disclosure comes following the issuance late last week of a new permit that allows the company to continue operations through April of 2029.
The EPA from its Atlanta regional office had made five suggestions to TDEC "to ensure compliance with Title V of the Clean Air Act."
Those suggestions included monitoring that would ensure the visible emissions from US Nitrogen's nitric acid plant did not exceed opacity limits during start-ups and shut-downs.
Concerns about the visible emissions from the plant have recently been voiced by Park Overall, a local activist who sent pictures to TDEC showing visible emissions from the Midway plant recorded recently.
"The division sees no need for additional opacity monitoring for the nitric acid plant during start-up or shut-down," TDEC official James Johnston wrote in response to the EPA recommendation. Stating that emissions were expected to decrease dramatically due to a recent "process change," Johnson wrote, "There is no need for additional monitoring."
EPA also had suggested that US Nitrogen be required to record the amount of natural gas used and to set an annual limit on natural gas used.
TDEC rejected that suggestion contending that EPA was using the wrong standard in its analysis.
EPA also had urged that the state permit require US Nitrogen to record the heat input for the anhydrous ammonia plant but TDEC said that also was unnecessary. However the agency stated that they did add new language to the permit to ensure overall compliance.
A fourth EPA recommendation, that the permit require monitoring of visible emissions for flares used in the production process, was judged "unnecessary."
A final recommendation for additional monitoring and record-keeping on the nitric acid plant was similarly rejected.
"There are no federal or state standards for ammonia emissions that apply to this facility," the TDEC response states.
TDEC did state that a provision was added to the permit requiring that US Nitrogen adjust the ammonia injection rate if emission limits were exceeded.
TDEC previously issued responses rejecting other additional monitoring and record-keeping requirements proposed by an environmental consultant brought on by Overall. The agency similarly rejected suggestions from the Sierra Club.
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US Nitrogen Gets TDEC Permit

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Tennessee environmental regulators have issued a new operating permit to a Greene County chemical firm that will allow the company to continue manufacturing till April 1, 2029.
The conditional major operating permit was issued by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to US Nitrogen, an ammonium nitrate manufacturer located in Midway in Greene County. The action followed public hearings in which the Sierra Club,local activists and an environmental consultant all called for stricter limits and additional reporting and record-keeping requirements.
In November the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also recommended additional record-keeping and reporting requirements.
Under the revised permit the company is required to limit the emission of nitrous oxides and carbon monoxide to 100 tons each in any continuous 12 month period.
If the company exceeds those limits through required monitoring it must self report it to TDEC within 15 days of its discovery.
Limits also are placed on the opacity of emissions, set at 20 percent. Local activist Park Overall recently sent TDEC photos showing plumes of smoke emitting from the US Nitrogen plant.
The opacity limits do not apply to startup and shutdowns, but US Nitrogen must take steps to limit emissions and opacity during startups, shutdowns and malfunctions.
The permit states that if the company exceeds the agreed limits it faces the possible loss of its permit and penalties and action by the EPA.
The permit sets various deadlines for the company to submit reports including two that become due in April of next year.
Other limits in the permit include a cap of 5.8 million tons of ammonia production in any 12 month period. Limits also apply to particulate emissions and heat input. The permit also requires the use of natural gas in production processes.
The action on the operating permit follows TDEC approval of a series of related permits, some of which apply to two other companies, Praxair Inc. and Yara North America Inc., that share the same Greene County site.
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US Nitrogen's River Use Plunges

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The use of water from the Nolichucky River by a Greene County chemical firm dropped substantially in November, according to a report filed with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
US Nitrogen reported that it drew 12.3 million gallons from the Nolichucky in the month down from the 21.7 million gallons of river water it used in October. The report shows that on 10 days during last month a minimal amount was drawn for use in the company's production of ammonium nitrate and related product.
On only on two days, Nov. 24 and 25, the company pumped a little over one million gallon from the waterway.
The amount of water the company discharged back in to the Nolichucky also decreased with the total reaching 4.8 million gallons. That was less than half of the 10.9 million discharged in October. The largest day of discharge, more than 500,000 gallons. came on Nov. 20. Minimal discharges were reported on four days.
The company draws water from the river through an 11 mile pipeline running from the river to its Midway plant. A permit allowing the installation of the pipeline alongside two state highways was issued by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Another permit, which was recently renewed by TDEC, authorizes the use of the river water by US Nitrogen..
Both permits drew opposition from local residents and were the subject of lawsuits. One such suit filed by landowners who charged that the pipeline trespassed on their property was settled under terms that were not made public.
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Judge Boosts US Nitrogen Verdict

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A federal judge has reversed himself and boosted the award to US Nitrogen LLC to a little under $2.8 million in a suit brought against the company that performed engineering work on a Tennessee factory.
In a seven-page ruling U.S. District Judge Michael L. Brown, sitting in Atlanta, ruled that Weatherly Inc. must pay US Nitrogen $2.759 million, an increase of nearly $600,000. Brown had earlier ruled that the maximum amount of the award was $2.2 million.
The latest action follows a September trial in which a jury awarded US Nitrogen $5.75 million. Brown subsequently reduced the award to $2.2 million citing a 15 percent cap in the contract between the two firms.
But the judge reversed himself following a December hearing in which lawyers for Weatherly argued that the $5.75 million jury award was excessive and should be reversed. US Nitrogen's lawyers sought an increase in the verdict.
Weatherly performed engineering services for the construction of US Nitrogen's Midway TN. ammonium nitrate manufacturing facility. In the original suit US Nitrogen sought $30 million, charging that errors by Weatherly substantially delayed the start up of the plant and forced millions of dollars in added construction costs.
According to the ruling US Nitrogen was billed $18.395 million by Weatherly and a provision in the original contract capped any damages at 15 percent of the contract price.
Brown had previously ruled that the cap applied to the original contract price of $14.692 million, but in the latest ruling he concluded that the cap should be applied to the final price.
Citing language in the original contract, Brown wrote that it was clear that both parties understood that the price could increase.
"That the parties used a percentage rather than a definite figure indicates their expectation and intention for the price and Weatherly's liability cap to increase with the needs of the project," Brown wrote.
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