As a water quality policy person even I am unsure what EPA, TVA, TDEC, and other state and federal groups mean when they say the water is safe at the site of last week’s fly ash spill.  Safe for whom or what?  Safe to drink?  Safe to swim in?  Safe for the mussels or other aqautic life?  Safe for fishing?  In an apparent effort to quell the fears of residents the reports of water quality testing are vague and inadequate to fully detail the impact of this disaster on our water quality, aquatic life, and land use. 

The reports released thus far have had conflicting messages.  Just yesterday EPA released information stating there are high levels of aresenic in the area of the spill as well as heavy metal levels exceeding drinking water standards.  Is this safe?  The two streams directly affected by this contamination already suffer water quality impairments from mercury, PCBs, and chlordane.  How are these impaired water bodies able to dissipate the intense amount of added pollutants resulting from this spill as some groups have claimed?

It may be some time before we know the true impact of this disaster.  It is important for all monitoring to continue, full results be provided to the public, and direct understanding of this situation be advertised.  Of the utmost importance at this time is for those agencies in charge to do everything possible to appropriately and adequately clean up this mess and take every step possible to prevent such incidnents from occuring ever again.  This type of catastrophe has significant impacts to us, our recreational outlets, our food supply, our drinking water supply, aquatic life, and land use.  This is by no means an isolated event to a specific site in our state, but a disaster with the potential to impact the environmental as a whole .

Early last month the TCWN staff conducted a site visit at Rarity Oaks.  The purpose of this visit was to determine if the site was in compliance with a settlement Rarity Communities, Inc. and TDEC signed in May of this year.  You see, since June of 2006, Rarity Oaks has been in violation of TDEC’s rules and regulations for land disturbing activities and impacting waters of the state.  At first the site was being graded and waters of the state were being excavated all without permits.  I find it difficult to believe Rarity Communities, who has developed numerous previously undisturbed tracts of land in Eastern Tennessee, was unaware they needed a permit.  Once TDEC did issue them permits the developer consistently failed to install the appropriate measures to protect our waters which in turn caused significant amounts of sediment to pollute two streams on site.  Over the course of two years TDEC issued the site 2 notices of violation, and finally in April of 2007, filed a Commissioner’s Order against Rarity.  This type of order requires the permit holder to complete specific tasks and establishes a fine to be paid for violations. Rarity, of course, appealed this order, and in May of this year settled with TDEC in what is called an Agreed Order which also addressed permit violations from another Rarity site.

So TCWN became curious as to whether Rarity had complied with this Agreed Order.  We spoke with TDEC’s Knoxville Environmental Field Office, conducted a file search and finally visited the site.   This is what we found:

Which causes this:

It was obvious Rarity had not complied with the Agreed Order.  Our next step was to let TDEC know.  We wrote them a letter detailing each way in which the conditions of the Agreed Order had not been met. We requested the site immediately be stabilized and for Rarity to pay the full extent of the fine, which is $2,500 a day.  TDEC promptly and adequately responded to our letter in a brief statement agreeing the site was not complying with the Order.  TDEC stated they fully intend to enforce the Order and will keep TCWN copied with any follow up actions on the matter.  Thanks TDEC!

This site is a perfect example of blatant disregard for the rules and direct indifference towards causing conditions of pollution in our waters.  How many of us would sign a binding legal agreement to complete certain tasks and then walk away without fulfilling any of them?  There is no reason for deliberately ignoring the Order. This is a developer working throughout Eastern Tennessee who has no excuse to be unaware of the rules or be in consistent violation of them.  We appreciate TDEC’s recognition of these obvious violations and look forward to working with the Department to address this issue. We also hope TDEC recognizes this pattern of behavior in which some developers either think they are above the rules or simply believe they won’t get caught if they break them. Why else would Rarity Communities, Inc. so deliberately break the rules and the conditions of the settlement unless they believed they could get away with it?

Most recently, we got curious again and went back to the site last week.  And this is what we found on our second visit:

Apparently Rarity Communities does not like the public knowing what is happening on their site.  It’s great to see the site has been seeded and straw has been distributed to initiate stabilization, however, there is much more to be done.  We’ll keep you posted on what happens next!

Last week I traveled to Giles County to work with a group of residents seeking to maintain public ownership of a spring in their county. The Giles County Citizens for Natural Resource Protection have worked hard to learn about the potential impacts of privatizing water and inform residents about the negative repercussions they could face by leasing away their rights. I answered questions and addressed concerns voiced by this group in an effort to further inform them about the risks associated with water privatization during a time of significant growth coupled with worsening drought conditions. I was incredibly impressed with this group of committed residents, their eagerness to protect not only this important source of future drinking water, but also to protect their natural resources.

The following morning they allowed me to attend and speak at a public meeting of the Property Committee, which was hearing a presentation from Aspen Holding Company, who is seeking to lease the County’s spring water on a 50 year lease. Again, the residents in attendance impressed me with their knowledge, concern, and commitment to do what is best for the citizens of Giles County. Luckily, in the attend the Committee voted to take more time to assess the impacts, complete a thorough study on the issue, and hold a public hearing before making a recommendation to the County Commission to accept the offer from Aspen Holding Company.

The threat of water privatization is increasing tremendously throughout the state. It is dangerous and often environmentally disastrous to sell or lease public water rights to private companies, and Giles County is all to familiar with these facts. Communities must become informed and aware of the risks associated with privatization. They become at risk to lose significant amounts of water as private companies monitor and determine the amount available to the affected community. As residents of any community with a public drinking water source, you are accountable to your neighbor and your fellow residents to use and protect that water in a responsible manner. Selling off your rights takes away your right to make decisions affecting your important drinking water source.

Last week we signed on to a petition to the EPA requesting them to set and enforce numeric standards to limit nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi River Basin. EPA has disregarded its responsibility under the federal Clean Water Act to limit pollution in the Mississippi River, and it’s time they addressed this ongoing problem. The dead zone will continue to grow unless the EPA sets numeric standards for nitrogen and phosphorus pollution and requires all states in the river basin meet those standards.

In 1998 the EPA requested states to adopt specific limits on nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, even threatening to enact its own limits if states had not complied by 2003. It’s been 10 years, but nothing has happened. Every state along the Mississippi has thumbed its nose at that and other deadlines set by EPA, and the federal government has not stepped in to supply the urgently needed protections. As a result, inland water quality problems have multiplied and the dead zone has continued to grow. Now Tennessee ranks 7^th out of the 31 states making up the MS River Basin as a contributor to the phosphorus and nitrogen delivered to the Gulf of Mexico.

This petition serves to notify the EPA we are fed up with their failure to protect the MS River and that it’s time to take some action!