Tennessee whiskey distillers focus on pollution controls as industry grows

January 29, 2018 at 1:00 a.m. | Updated January 28, 2018 at 11:35 p.m.

by The Tennessean

A Jack Daniel's distillery worker sprays water to cool down charcoal, which will be used to filter the Tennessee whiskey at the historic Lynchburg, Tenn., distillery. The company violated its water quality permit in 2017, but has since come back into compliance. (Photo: Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean)
A Jack Daniel's distillery worker sprays water to cool down charcoal, which will be used to filter the Tennessee whiskey at the historic Lynchburg, Tenn., distillery. The company violated its water quality permit in 2017, but has since come back into compliance. (Photo: Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean)

As the whiskey industry continues to grow, Tennessee's two largest distilleries struggled to comply with water quality regulations last year.

Jack Daniel's and George Dickel exceeded their limits for chlorine and other pollutants that can harm aquatic wildlife. After investigating the violations, the distilleries traced the problems to broken or inadequate machinery and faulty testing. State officials say the companies have fixed the problems and are now back in compliance.

Meanwhile, Jack Daniel's is applying for a new water pollution permit to cover its growing distillery. The historic operation in Lynchburg, owned by Louisville-based Brown- Forman, is undergoing a $140 million expansion as consumer demand surges. Executives expect to increase the amount of wastewater in the next two to three years.

Read more at our news partner's website, tennessean.com.

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