Roaring Creek work brings fine for Rhea

Rhea County Executive Billy Ray Patton said Tuesday the county has paid a $2,500 fine assessed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for violating the federal Clean Water Act while trying to control flooding on Roaring Creek in Graysville.

And Mr. Patton said that while it's hard to be happy about being fined, it could have been worse. The fine could have been up to $140,000, he said. And the dredging that drew the fine has protected Graysville's residents from floods, he said.

"Had we not done the work we did, with all the rain we had in the latter part of September and October, we would have had devastating flooding," Mr. Patton said.

The EPA said in a news release Tuesday it issued consent orders and fines to Rhea County and its contractor, East Tennessee Grading, for exceeding a grading permit meant to stabilize the creek.

In 2003, Roaring Creek burst its banks and inundated Graysville twice. Many homes were damaged and a federal disaster was declared, according to Times Free Press archives.

Local officials began working on solutions to perennial flooding problems. The county eventually received permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the Tennessee Valley Authority to dredge the creek and line it with wire baskets of rock to stabilize the banks.

But in 2006, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said the work performed went almost a mile past the limits of the permit. The state ordered the county to restore the creek or face penalties.

According to TDEC, the dredging and widening altered the creek enough to threaten aquatic species and to raise the risk of sending rock and debris downstream that could cause more flooding.

The citations for discharging material into wetland habitats were among 17 issued by EPA against Clean Water Act violations in eight states.

"By taking these enforcement actions, we are sending a strong message about the importance of protecting rivers, lakes and streams across the Southeast," Stan Meiburg, EPA Region 4 acting regional administrator, said in the news release.