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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