Industrial Dischargers
The Clean Water Act requires permits for various types of activities, including discharges of effluent from industrial dischargers. Permits exist for good reasons. Many industrial activities require water, but may lead to pollution in adjacent water bodies.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, discharges from industrial facilities may contain pollutants at levels that could affect the quality of receiving waters or interfere with public water treatment. In Tennessee, 4.5 million pounds (lbs) of toxics were released into waters in 2015.
Unfortunately, 2015 Toxic Release Inventory Factsheet notes that Tennessee ranks 8 out of 56 states/territories nationwide based on total releases per square mile.
TCWN litigation enforces permit conditions and makes sure that permits protect local waterbodies. Our work strives to reduce toxic releases into Tennessee communities.
Featured Case
The Tennessee Clean Water Network protected surface waters in Kingsport, Tennessee through the Holston Army Ammunitions case.
The Army’s Holston Army Ammunition Plant (HSAAP) discharged RDX (a toxic explosive compound) in amounts exceeding its permit limit. HSAAP is located in Kingsport on the banks of the Holston River.
We reached a settlement agreement with involved parties to greatly reduce the level of RDX pollution in the Holston River by 2020. The proposed settlement was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee on September 28, 2015.