CLEVELAND, Tenn. - A pair of Bradley County commissioners are pushing for the state to provide a resolution to a months-long erosion concern for a property owner.
Commissioner Bobby Goins and Vice Chairman Jeff Yarber have publicly championed the cause of Jo Ann Hawkins, who alleges that she has lost a swath of property measuring 14 feet wide by 70 feet long because of nearby development.
The county has no authority over the property, which is located near Grand View Drive. Instead, it falls under the governance of the state's stormwater program through the Division of Water Resources of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
In a recent meeting, Yarber expressed frustration with the state's progress and sought assistance from Bradley County Attorney Crystal Freiberg.
"The yard is just falling off," he said. "The state said that it could be months before they come to a resolution on this because they have to consult their attorneys. The developer is going to do exactly what the state is going to let him get away with."
Freiberg said she would follow up with TDEC officials.
"Obviously, if we [Bradley County] were dealing with this type of complaint, it wouldn't take us that long to deal with," she said.
At the site, Hawkins compared the edge of her back yard -now a steep bank defined by an uneven ledge split by fissures and marked by tilting pine trees - to a gentler slope on a nearby ridge.
"The edge of my property used to look like that," said Hawkins, pointing at the other slope.
Since February, her back yard has crept closer to her home and she has lost at least a dozen trees, she said.
Loose piles of dirt and a jumble of toppled trees rest at the bottom of the embankment.
Goins said several truckloads of dirt - Hawkins' lost ground - already have been hauled away.
TDEC received and investigated a complaint about the site in June, spokeswoman Kelly Brockman said in an email.
A June 24 TDEC letter sent to Rob Renner, owner of developer Renner Realty, stated that "several bare slopes needed be stabilized in order to avoid further erosion."
A follow-up inspection reported the bare slopes had not been stabilized, and an enforcement request is pending, Brockman said.
A line of concrete barrier segments, covered in places by dirt and fallen trees, is in place at the bottom of the embankment.
Renner said slope stabilization efforts are on hold pending recommendations from engineering consulting firm Geo Services LLC, of Knoxville.
"We want to do this right," said Renner, citing the need for a permanent solution.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.
