Environment
States are vying for money to start ‘hydrogen hubs.’ What are they?
Across the country, states are inking agreements with neighbors or striking out on their own to pursue billions in federal funding to set up “hydrogen hubs,” clustered centers for production, storage and use of the gas that many see as a crucial piece of the puzzle for decarbonizing the U.S. economy. How broad a role […]
West Tennessee farmers struggle to get crops to market as drought drains Mississippi River
John Dodson’s corn, cotton and soybean fields lie fewer than 10 miles from the Mississippi River, the key transportation artery for west Tennessee grain farmers. But they might as well be a thousand. Historically low water levels on the river are coming at the worst possible time for him. It’s peak harvest season, but he can’t […]
EPA tells South Memphis residents little recourse exists to deal with toxic emissions
At Monumental Baptist church in South Memphis, local residents lined up to tell federal officials how cancer possibly linked to their environment had taken their loved ones, friends and family. Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency flew into town to inform residents of the possible deadly consequences of living near Sterilization Services of Tennessee, […]
Maury County approves Jackson Law requiring local approval for trash facilities and landfills
The Maury County Commission on Monday unanimously enacted the Jackson Law, a measure that gives local governments control over whether to approve privately-owned landfills and trash facilities within their jurisdictions. The 21-0 vote followed widespread community backlash over plans by Louisiana-based Trinity Business Group to create a large-scale waste processing and recycling plant, tire shredding […]
Maury County considers law to regulate proposed facility on Monsanto site
In an urgent effort by local officials to claim a role in deciding whether privately-owned trash facilities are built in their community, the Maury County Commission today will consider passage of the Jackson Law. The Jackson Law requires local approval for any commercially-operated landfill – or facility that processes household and commercial garbage, such as […]
Fight looms over proposed Maury County mega trash site
A Louisiana company’s plan to construct large-scale trash recycling, tire shredding and incineration operations on a federally designated Superfund site in Maury County is receiving increasing pushback. Trinity Business Group in June applied for a state permit to establish the mega waste site on a rural stretch of land just outside the county seat of […]
In South Memphis, residents cope with toxic chemical pollution as EPA investigates
Leona Golster loves her home in South Memphis, but sometimes it’s hard for the 78-year-old to breathe on her front porch. Every now and then, the wind blows the smell of chemicals from the Sterilization Services of Tennessee, a facility that uses ethylene oxide (EtO) to sterilize equipment for businesses throughout Tennessee. “Smells like they’re […]
Middle Point operators say city, county the source of toxins found at landfill, not them
In their ongoing dispute with the city of Murfreesboro, operators of the Middle Point Landfill are now blaming toxic pollutants found in runoff from the landfill and in nearby waterways on a city-run wastewater treatment plant and a landfill operated by Rutherford County. In August, the city of Murfreesboro filed suit against BFI Waste Systems […]
TVA sued in worker electrocution death at Bull Run plant; report warned of safety concerns
The Tennessee Valley Authority is being blamed in the electrocution death of a contract laborer at its Bull Run Fossil Plant in Anderson County. A lawsuit on behalf of the estate of Seth Black, a 29-year-old Spring City, Tenn., man who died at the plant in September 2021, has been filed in U.S. District Court […]
Report says many utilities are slow-walking clean energy goals
DENVER – A report released this week by the Sierra Club faults dozens of utilities that provide a major chunk of U.S. electric generation for failing to speed up their decarbonization efforts. “For the sake of our communities and planet, we must do everything in our power to create a clean, renewable electric grid by […]
Lawsuit: Cookeville discharged millions of gallons of untreated sewage into creeks and streams
The city of Cookeville is illegally discharging sewage into streams and creeks that feed into the Cumberland River, diminishing aquatic life and contaminating waterways used for boating, fishing, swimming and other recreational uses, a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit environmental group, Tennessee Riverkeeper, claims. The city’s sewage treatment plant has cited for violations more than […]
Lawmakers demand town hall meeting on plans for Maury County mega waste site
Two Republican lawmakers are asking state environmental regulators to halt approvals for a large-scale trash recycling and incineration plant in Maury County on a federally designated superfund site where chemical weapons agents were once manufactured. State Sen. Joey Hensley and Rep. Scott Cepicky, who each represent portions of Maury County, said they were concerned about […]