Saturday, March 5, 2016

Additional Beds Sought for GVDC Residents


By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A nonprofit that already is serving disabled Tennessee residents  has applied for a state certificate to serve four of the residents set to depart from the Greene Valley Development Center.
An application for a four-bed facility in Rockwood Roane County has been submitted to the state Health Planning and Development Agency by the Michael Dunn Center. In the application the nonprofit stated that it also intends to seek approval for a second four-bed facility also in Roane County.
Under the current application, an existing 10-bed licensed residential rehabilitation building at 763 Clymersville Road in Rockwood will be converted to a four bed Intermediate Care Facility for four former Greene Valley residents.
The nine current residents of the Clymersville Road home will be transferred to "newly acquired supported living homes," according to the application.
The Clymersville building is owned by Hope Haven Corp., which is listed as "financially related" to the Michael Dunn Center. Dunn will lease the renovated building from Hope Haven, according to the application.
Financial information included in the application states that the new home is expected to have annual revenues of $1.15 million, most of that coming from TennCare and the state.
The Dunn certificate of need application is scheduled to be considered by the board of the health planning agency on April 27.
As with the other applications, the file includes a letter of support from Debra Payne, who heads the state Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Seven other certificate of need applications for 28 beds to serve Greene Valley residents are pending before the same board.
Previously the panel has given its approval to another 28 beds. Only one, for a Greeneville facility, has drawn substantial opposition.
Greene Valley is under a federal court order to shut down by June 30, though an extension beyond that date is likely.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Posted by at No comments:

TDEC Promises Hearing on US Nitrogen Water Permit


By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Responding to multiple requests for a public hearing and an extension of time for public comment, Tennessee environmental officials have informed Greene County area residents there will be a public hearing on a new water discharge permit for US. Nitrogen, but they aren't saying when.
In an email response to local residents, Vojin Janic of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said both requests will be granted.
In doing so, however, Janic asserted that the granting of the permit would not result in pollution of the Nolichucky River, the waterway where the ammonium nitrate manufacturer plans to dump millions of gallons of water.
In a related development, local resident Donahue Bible has submitted a detailed statement opposing the permit which TDEC already has indicated it intends to approve.
Bible said there were multiple reasons the permit should not be renewed and, in fact, it should never have been issued in the first place. He said there was evidence that the permit was unnecessary as US Nitrogen could have purchased water from the local utility district and discharged the effluent for regular sewage processing.
Janic, in his email to local residents, also clarified that the permit up for renewal is for the discharge of water from the US Nitrogen plant to the river. A separate permit allows the company to pump water from the river for use in the manufacturing process, he said.
"The permit we are talking about," Janic wrote, "is the discharge permit, not the withdrawal permit. The draft permit is for the discharge of treated effluent from the US Nitrogen facility."
"Therefore," he concluded, "this discharge will have no impact on the Nolichucky River or the groundwater in the area."
He said that "by law we are not allowed to issue a permit that would cause a condition of pollution in the receiving stream."
 In the email to Afton resident Park Overall, Janic said that the date of a public hearing will be announced at least 30 days in advance and residents will have 15 days following the hearing to submit comments.
At a minimum, he wrote, there will be 45 days advance notice.
"You can count on us receiving comments through the end of May 2016," the email states.
Overall, however, said the agency should have provided  dates and deadlines already.
 "TDEC is openly ignoring rules on public notice and public participation," Overall said. "People have a right to know what they are being poisoned with."
While the state agency is promising a hearing on the water discharge permit, they have announced they will not hold a hearing on an air permit renewal sought by US Nitrogen. Under that renewal the company could triple the amount of nitrous oxides emitted from the yet-to-open facility.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com


Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

State Turns Down US Nitrogen Air Permit Hearing Request


By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and subsequent guidance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a state agency has turned down a request for a public hearing on an amended air permit from U.S. Nitrogen.
In a letter to Park Overall, an Afton resident who had requested a hearing, an official of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said the court and EPA actions moved the US Nitrogen request to a lower category. As a result, TDEC official James P. Johnston wrote, a hearing will not be held.
Johnston said the federal action, coupled with subsequent changes at the state level, re-categorized the US Nitrogen request from a major to a minor pollution source category.
He said that under the court ruling, sources could not be categorized as major sources of pollutants solely because of the emission of greenhouse gases.
Overall had requested a hearing citing the US Nitrogen request to triple the amount of nitrous oxides that will be allowed under the permit.
Overall expressed anger and outrage with the decision to deny a public hearing and noted that her request was based on the findings of an expert on air pollution issues.
"It is a desperate day in this state when all the regulatory agencies which we depend upon to protect the public health and safety pass the buck," she said.
"Well the buck stops here," she added, adding that she will continue efforts to challenge the permit and the project.
The US Nitrogen plant in Midway Greene County is set to begin operation later this year. It will produce tons of ammonium nitrate per day which will be shipped to another location for the production of explosives.
Johnston wrote that the court ruling "confirmed that a source cannot become a major source solely because of its emission of greenhouse gases. Because US Nitrogen was only considered a major source due to the greenhouse gases, the courts ruling eliminated US Nitrogen from being considered a major source."
As for the nitrous oxide emissions, Johnson said that modeling indicated the facility would still be in compliance with federal standards even with the threefold increase in emissions.
In a separate permit issue, several local residents have petitioned TDEC to hold a public hearing on the renewal of a permit allowing US Nitrogen to draw and discharge millions of gallons of water per day from the Nolichucky River.
TDEC already has issued notice that it intends to approve that permit.
Area residents Donahue Bible, Deborah Bahr and Ann Calfee have asked TDEC to hold a hearing before final action on that permit.
Calfee, in her letter, said "allowing a corporation to dump straight into 'exceptional waters' is unforgivable."
TDEC has responded acknowledging the letters but has not stated whether a hearing will be held.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com





Posted by at 1 comment:

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Six Group Homes Win State Approval


By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A state board has easily approved six new group homes in Eastern Tennessee to provide new residences for the remaining residents of the Greene Valley Development Center, a facility under a federal court closing order.
Approved without opposition at a meeting this week by the board of Tennessee Health Services and Development agency were five facilities to be operated by the Georgia based Open Arms Care Corp and a sixth to be operated by Sunrise Tennessee, an affiliate of a Florida non-profit. Each of the facilities will have four beds.
The quick approvals granting certificates of need for all six homes were in contrast to another group home proposal in Greeneville which was approved only after several local residents and some political leaders voiced strong opposition. 
A proposed Sunrise facility on Old Shiloh Road in Greeneville drew widespread opposition at a previous meeting of the same board.  Despite the opposition, the facility was granted a certificate of need, a prerequisite to obtaining a state license.
 The newly approved Sunrise facility will be located at 680 Quaker Knob Road in Chuckey, Greene County.
The Open Arms Care Corporation homes will be located at E. Church Street (2) and Chuckey Pike in Greeneville and Gamble Road (2) in Georgetown Hamilton County.
 All six of the homes had been recommended for approval by Melanie M. Hill, executive director of the state health development agency.
The state is under a federal court order to close the Greene Valley Development Center by June 30, although an extension is regarded as a near certainty.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com










Posted by at No comments:

Friday, February 26, 2016

Judge Tosses Case on Pipeline Challenge


By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A chancery court judge today dismissed a suit challenging the legality of a permit that allowed the installation of a 12 mile pipeline in Greene County built for the use of US Nitrogen.
Following a more than one hour hearing Judge Claudia Bonnyman granted a motion for dismissal filed by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Lawyers for US Nitrogen and the area industrial development board had joined in support of the dismissal motion.
Bonnyman's decision, which still could be appealed, ends, at least for now, yet another legal challenge to the 12-mile pipeline to the Nolichucky River from the US Nitrogen plant in Mosheim.
Elizabeth Murphy, attorney for local landowners who filed the suit, said she was surprised and disappointed in the ruling.
"It doesn't make any sense," Murphy said, adding that the decision appeared to ignore 40 years of established law.
Lawyers for TDOT had argued that the landowners lacked standing to bring the suit in  the first place.
The plaintiffs said that the pipeline, which already is in place, trespassed on their property and, once in operation would pollute and dry out the river.
All of the plaintiffs own property abutting the river.
The suit also challenged the legal right for TDOT to grant the permit. The pipeline will be utilized by US Nitrogen but owned by the Industrial Development Board of Greeneville and Greene County. US Nitrogen has announced plans to begin operation of its $200 million facility later this year.
Murphy argued that under Tennessee law such permits can only be granted to public utilities.
The suit was one of the few remaining legal challenges to the pipeline, which will be used to pumps millions of gallons per day from the Nolichucky for use in US Nitrogen's production of ammonium nitrate.
“It is a shame to live in a state, that has deteriorated to the point that the judiciary can be intimidated by the executive branch," said Donahue Bible, one of the plaintiffs.

I am very disappointed and very sad that the judge thinks we have no standing in this case," said Ann Calfee, another plaintiff. Park Overall, a local resident opposed to the pipeline project, but not a plaintiff in the suit, said, "It is very hard to deal with a rigged system where the law only applies to money."
She said a decision will have to be made on whether to file an appeal.
Murphy indicated she will be talking with her clients about the possibility of an appeal.
Contact:wfrochejr999@gmail.com

 

Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Affidavit Disputes Draft Permit Claims


By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A sworn affidavit cited in pending litigation contradicts assertions in a draft permit issued for the controversial 12-mile Greene County pipeline recently issued for comment by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
The affidavit by Butch Shaw, the former chairman of the Old Knox Utility District, states that the utility district had told officials of US Nitrogen that they could easily supply the firm with the water needed for the operation of its $200 million ammonium nitrate manufacturing facility.
Stating that he was "directly involved" in the negotiations with US Nitrogen, Shaw swore that claims that the district could not supply the needed water were false.
"That is not accurate" Shaw wrote in the affidavit. "As the Old Knox system existed when negotiations began with US Nitrogen, the utility system would have required an upgrade. With the upgrade, the volume was available."
Shaw's statement stands in contrast to the draft permit recently issued for the pipeline by TDEC.
"The permittee chose not to connect to a public water supply for its industrial process water for several reasons, the main one being lack of guaranteed uninterrupted water supply," the draft states.
According to a motion filed this week in Nashville, Shaw's affidavit was filed as an attachment to a motion for summary judgment filed earlier in a suit pending in Chancery Court in Davidson County by landowners opposed to the pipeline. The pipeline has already has been installed but has yet to be put into full operation.
The landowners have charged that the Tennessee Department of Transportation exceeded its legal authority when it issued a permit allowing the pipeline to be placed within the rights-of-way of two state highways.
In his affidavit, Shaw, who resigned from the district board last year, said that as the board's representative he was personally involved with the hiring of an an engineering firm to study the upgrade and getting approval from the a federal agency for a loan to cover the $3.2 million estimated cost.
Shaw stated that because of its location, the utility district would have been the designated supplier of water for US Nitrogen. The district, in turn, would purchase the water from the Greeneville Utility District.
"In anticipation of selling more water to us, for US Nitrogen, Greeneville Utility spent money to upgrade their pumps to handle the added volume that USN was going to buy. I was involved in those discussions as well," Shaw continued.
He added, " As the liaison for the board with USN, I was actively negotiating with US Nitrogen in July of 2014 for a water rate of $2.31 per thousand gallons, or a flat rate of $15,000 per month per the Board’s directive."
He said that after being told by a US Nitrogen representative that they had a deal, he learned during a conference call that the deal was off. Still later he learned from a newspaper article that US Nitrogen planned to draw water directly from the Nolichucky.
US Nitrogen officials did not respond to a request for comment.
"Greeneville( Old Knox's supplier) could have supplied enough water to USN, and still can. The Greeneville Utility is permitted for 16 million gallons a day of capacity, and they are only using about 7.9 million," the affidavit concludes.
The draft permit recently made public by TDEC would allow US Nitrogen to draw millions of gallons of water per day from the Nolichucky. Several local residents already have formally requested that a public hearing be held on the permit.
Contact:wfrochejr999@gmail.com




Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Landowners Contest Motion to Dismiss


By Walter F. Roche

Charging that the state has turned the case into a three ringed circus, landowners have asked a judge to reject a motion seeking the dismissal of a suit challenging the legality of a permit for a 12-mile Greene County pipeline.
In a 14-page response filed this week in Davidson Chancery Court in Nashville, the attorney for the landowners is charging that the state is using procedural challenges to prevent the court from ever reaching the central legal issue, the legality of the pipeline permit.
"According to the defendant, no matter how illegal the permit, no matter how open the disregard for the law, there is no way to challenge the permit from the Tennessee Department of Transportation," the filing by Nashville attorney Elizabeth Murphy states.
The filing comes just before a scheduled Friday hearing in the case filed by landowners challenging a permit that allowed construction of the pipeline to the Nolichucky River. The pipeline, already installed, will serve US Nitrogen, the company that plans to pump millions of gallons of water per day for use in the production of ammonium nitrate.
The Tennessee Attorney General, along with attorneys for US Nitrogen and the Industrial Development Authority of Greeneville and Greene County, have asked for the suit to be dismissed citing the state's sovereign immunity. They also  contend the plaintiffs, who own land along the Nolichucky, lack the legal standing to even make such a challenge.
The suit charges that TDOT exceeded its legal authority when it reversed course and granted the permit to the IDB.
The landowners latest filing charges that TDOT's reversal was based on "a mumble of clarified intentions" and represented a clear overreach of its authority. The law, the landowners contend, only allows TDOT to issue such permits to public utilities.
"The court has the duty to correct this overreach by TDOT," the filing states.
The motion also charges that US Nitrogen was "playing a price game" by abandoning plans to purchase needed water from local utilities.
"The local utilities had the capacity; they are using half of the 16 million gallons per day," the motion states.
As for standing, the landowners' motion states that construction and operation of the pipeline will cause direct injury "to their land, title and money."
"The state contends not only does it have immunity, but can break the law with impunity," the motion concludes.
Arguments on the motion to dismiss are scheduled to be heard Friday before Chancery Judge Claudia Bonnyman.
Contact:wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)