Smith Mountain biosolid project draws community complaints

Mar. 30—Mike Castle, field officer director for the Office of Surface Mining, believed he had found a solution to a problem at the former Crossville Coal mine site on Smith Mountain Rd.

Water was seeping into an underground tub dug into the mountain during the active mining. As more water seeped in, it started bubbling up — bringing with it dangerous materials leached from the dirt used to fill the hole.

But his solution has members of the community upset after they learned 7,200 pounds of treated human waste had been trucked into the site from Chattanooga.

"That's on me," Castle told a group of area residents and property owners at a community meeting March 23 at the Hebbertsburg Community Center. "We probably should have had a meeting like this.

"But we did the due diligence. We checked — we found out this would do what we need to do on that property to reclaim the mine without having to go dig everything up. We did our research."

The material — called biosolids — is what's left after wastewater has been treated and discharged. The solid material is treated and tested. If it meets certain requirements, including the amount of substances that can be dangerous in large amounts or the level of pathogens, it can be used as a commercial fertilizer.

State permits from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation set requirements for areas where the material can be used, buffer zones for proximity to water, and other considerations — all requirements that have been met, said Karen Styers with the city of Chattanooga.

Residents of the community cited numerous concerns with the plan that is already nearly complete. They're concerned about the smell of the biosolids. They're concerned about chemicals, metals or other hazards those biosolids could contain. And they're concerned that the biosolids could find their way into the water that feeds their wells.

"You're taking it to the top of a mountain," said one man in the audience. "We have a lot of property on creeks that have endangered species in it. And that's where it's going to go."

Machisha Griffin added, "We have a lot of wells."

As the meeting continued, Castle asked if coming to the residents beforehand would have made a difference. There was a resounding no from those present.

"What are we supposed to do about the problem up here?" Castle said. "This is the only way I know to solve this."

A Troubled Past

Crossville Coal Inc. applied for a mining permit in the 1980s. Those permits, Castle explained, are "cradle to the grave."

The permits require various types of financial instruments to ensure the land can be reclaimed. If a company does not reclaim a site, it forfeits those bonds and the money goes toward the reclamation process.

"Bad water" has been found on the site — acid mine drainage. The company was responsible for fixing the water.

But the parent company of Crossville Coal Inc. suffered a financial collapse, and Crossville Coal is in bankruptcy at this time.

"We had a lot of unabated violations on them. When they cannot abate a violation, as the regulatory authority, we have the right to forfeit the bonds, which means we will cause the reclamation to be complete," Castle said.

The property includes about 1,300 acres, but the mine reclamation area comprises about 480 acres.

The property is scheduled for auction in the summer as part of the bankruptcy case, but the federal mining agency retains a right of access to complete the mine reclamation work until it is complete.

Reclaiming the Land

Castle said the Office of Surface Mining is in the process of reclaiming the estimated 480 acres that were part of the mining permit.

One of the goals Castle has set for the project is to stop use of various chemicals to treat the "bad water" — previously treated by adding caustic soda.

"We haven't used any chemicals for a year," Castle said.

The water problem is unique, Castle said, because its coming from about 150 feet below the surface and not from surface water runoff.

During the mining operations, the company dug down about 150 feet. They made a box cut in the mountain, leaving what Castle calls a bathtub because of its shape.

"We know where the water is," Castle told the crowd. "That's there. We're not digging anything up. Our goal is not to disturb the land."

The area was backfilled.

The water that gets into the bathtub is trapped, Castle said. When the water pressure gets too high, the water comes up into a pond. As it rises, it leaches iron and manganese from the backfill material.

This is the only pond on the site where the acid mine drainage — the "bad water" — is found, Castle said.

By law, the water cannot leave the site with high levels of the iron or manganese. It has to be treated, either chemically or naturally.

"We want a permanent fix. And we know where the water is. We're trying to do it as natural as possible," Castle said.

He's working on a passive treatment system that would not require chemical additives to the water or the use of electricity.

For that system to work as planned, Castle said they must reduce the amount of water seeping into the bathtub.

To do that, Castle said they need to grow vegetation quickly at the site.

"The only way to minimize the ground infiltration of the water is to burn as much as you can so that it runs off naturally or vegetation, vegetation, vegetation — and the right type of vegetation," Castle said.

But the ground isn't very welcoming to new growth. The soil isn't very good, and the site is covered with an invasive species, lespedeza, that was once planted at the site. That makes it hard for native grasses to grow, Castle said.

But, OSM is working to reduce the disturbance to the land. Bringing in topsoil, for example, would require a lot of ground work with heavy equipment.

"You start the problem all over again," Castle said of disturbing the site. "How do we get rid of the invasive species and how do we get a luscious ground cover?"

Prescribed burns the past couple of weeks were meant to reduce the amount of lespedeza. Now, they needed to prepare the ground for new seeds.

"That's where biosolids come in," Castle said.

Biosolids

Castle said officials with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation recommended bringing biosolids to the site. They contacted Styers with Chattanooga's Moccasin Bend wastewater treatment facility, which had worked on a similar project in Copperhill, TN.

"They could not grow anything," Styers said of the Copperhill project, which reported a crop of winter wheat afterward. "It took them about 6 months to grow once they had everything ready."

Now, Chattanooga is no longer delivering biosolids to Copperhill, though soil scientists are monitoring the site.

"Every wastewater plant has to do something with what is left," Styers said. "We go the extra step of treating it so that it meets the requirements of the state and the [Environmental Protection Agency] so that it can be used on farms or in mines to use as a fertilizer."

Biosolids are considered a commercial fertilizer and can promote rapid growth of vegetation. Class A biosolids, such as those produced at the Crossville wastewater treatment plant, can be applied to food crops.

Crossville offers its biosolids to area farmers. But it doesn't produce enough to meet the needs of the Smith Mountain site.

Chattanooga offers class B biosolids. The treatment process removes 99%. Of pathogens. Testing also looks at the levels of arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, selenium and zinc.

Styers said Chattanooga is working toward producing class A biosolids in the future.

Chattanooga distributes biosolids to about 190 farms in Tennessee and Alabama consisting of more than 38,000 acres.

The Smith Mountain project includes 170 acres of the total 480-acre site, with 7,200 tons of biosolids waiting to be spread over the property.

That's all the city of Chattanooga will be bringing, she said.

"We're actually exceeding what we have to do here," Styers said. "The bathtub area is so steep ... We expanded our buffer zones — about 10 times the amount required — to stay off the bathtub, to stay away from any ponds."

Styers explained biosolids are closely monitored. Styers shared a March 9, 2023, report on biosolids, averaged from 56 samples taken in 2022. The report, available on the Chronicle website, provides the detected levels of the regulated metals: arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, selenium and zinc. All metals were far below the EPA's limits.

The biosolid material is treated with alkali to reduce pathogens.

Styers said the city's contractor, Synagro South, had met the requirements of the TDEC permit. However, there had been difficulties with some of the steps Chattanooga wanted to take beyond the permit requirements. That includes building a double silt fence round the project area.

"We've asked them to do additional things that are not regulated. They've kind of kicked back on that," Styers said. "So the city has determined to do it ourselves and we will deal with the contractor at a later date."

On Thursday, Styers told the Chronicle silt fences will be installed as areas of spreading are completed to avoid damaging the fences or the equipment. Additional hay bales are on site to use as needed to prevent runoff in areas until fencing is installed.

Residents' Voice

Residents of the area first got wind of the project when they started seeing trucks traveling up and down the two-lane road to Smith Mountain.

Rumors began circulating that it was raw sewage being brought to the site. Styers said that's not true — the material cannot leave the Chattanooga facility until it has passed all lab tests.

But neighbors were not pleased to learn TDEC issued a permit for biosolid land application with no notice to the surrounding property owners.

"Why did we not get asked if it was OK with us?" Brenda Caruthers asked.

Castle reviewed the research done prior to moving forward with the project. He said, "We did our research long before we came to this decision. Making you aware of it was too late."

Brenda Caruthers said, "So we get to live in it now, and our property value goes down."

Griffin said, "You look like the bad guys. These communities need to be informed first. Then you don't walk in with a black eye. You are behind the ball with us, trying to convince us."

Cumberland County Mayor Allen Foster said he only learned of the project when residents from the site visited him.

"I understand the frustration," Foster said, adding the county did not have a role in the regulatory process of the state and federal agencies. He would like the state to notify the county mayor's office when a permit such as this is being considered.

"I could have communicated with you," Foster said. "At the time, it seemed like it was past the time to even have a voice."

Foster said he also talked with the city of Crossville, which has a waiting list of area farmers for class A biosolids to use on their field.

Residents said there is a smell from the site. Styers likened it to chicken litter.

"I do think this smells bad," Styers said, adding she's brought the issue to city leaders. "We can fix it. It costs how every many millions of dollars. Who cares? Fix it."

David Caruthers, resident, asked, "You keep talking about permits. Who is monitoring this?"

Styers said she monitors the contractor, who she said met the requirements of the permit.

Another person asked for a sample of the biosolids to have independent testing completed. Castle noted many of the elements found in biosolids also occur naturally in soil.

Others asked where the biosolids would be running off without any vegetation on the site. Styers said that's where buffer zones are critical to keeping the runoff away from water sources.

Several residents asked if OSM would monitor their wells for water quality. Castle said the water at the mine site is tested before it discharges to ensure it meets quality standards.

Another man said, "Let's start today ... you're putting this in an area to give drainage control. The rain is going through that area. It's taking that bioproduct somewhere because there are no silt fences or straw or anything up there to protect is.

"Before you do anything, fix the problem."

What's Next

Once the biosolids have been spread around the 170 acres, native grass seed will be planted.

Then, Castle said, they wait.

"We'll be hydro-seeding with native grasses and hope they will outcompete the invasive species," Castle said. "If not, next year, we'll bring in goats to eat the lespedeza."

Castle is looking at options to place a permanent deed restriction on the 170 acres where the bad water is coming from to prohibit future development and land disturbance.

As vegetation returns to the site — first grasses and later trees — Castle said the property would begin to flourish and welcome wildlife.

"It might take 10 or 15 years, but I think you're going to be pleased," Castle said.

Heather Mullinix is editor of the Crossville Chronicle. She covers schools and education in Cumberland County. She may be reached at hmullinix@crossville-chronicle.com.