US Nitrogen Gets River Permit

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Tennessee environmental officials have renewed a controversial permit allowing a private chemical firm to pump millions of gallons of water per week from the Nolichucky River for use in its manufacturing processes.
The permit, which is retroactive to June 4, allows US Nitrogen LLC to draw the water from a pumping station at mile marker 20.8 on the river. The 10-page permit authorizes the company to draw water at the rate of 1,350 gallons per minute. The company pays nothing for the water.
In granting the permit the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said it determined the use of the water "will result in no more than a de minimus degradation to water quality and no appreciable permanent loss of resource value."
The permit application was submitted to TDEC on March 16 and was the subject of a May 21 public hearing in Greeneville.
A handful of opponents appeared at the session including Park Overall, a longtime critic of the US Nitrogen project.
The permit was signed by Jennifer Dodd, director of TDEC's division of water resources. The original permit expired June 4. The new permit expires June 3, 2024.
"The water withdrawal from the Nolichucky River is to serve as US Nitrogen's primary water supply for for cooling and process waters," the permit states.
Under the permit the company is required to maintain a daily record of the amount pumped from the river and to submit monthly reports on those records. The company must keep the records for five years.
"The permit does not authorize adverse impacts to cultural, historical or architectural features of sites," the document states.
The permit can be transferred as long as the succeeding company agrees to abide by the permit terms. The state must be informed of any transfer 30 days in advance.
The permit also requires US Nitrogen to notify the state within 24 hours of any permit violation that constitutes a threat to a public drinking water supply.
In the permit, state officials acknowledged that opponents of the project raised concerns about the impact on endangered aquatic species, but those concerns were dismissed.
The activity, the permit states "will result in an insignificant impact to all aquatic species, whether rare or not."
The river is used as a drinking water source but the water is drawn several miles upstream of US Nitrogen's pumping station. The pumping station is some 10 miles from US Nitrogen's Midway plant.
US Nitrogen also is seeking rnewal of several other permits which were the subject of recent public hearings.