CLEVELAND, Tenn. — State regulators ruled this week that construction of a new municipal airport in Cleveland will not impact local water quality and that permits issued to the Cleveland Municipal Airport Authority should be upheld.
Activists from the Tennessee Clean Water Network, led by local members Erin Fuller and John Moore, had appealed the issuance of the permits in an effort to delay construction of the airport.
“This is expected, albeit welcome, news for the Tennessee Water Quality Control Board to uphold permits issued for the new Cleveland Municipal Airport,” airport authority Chairwoman Lynn DeVault said in a news release.
Renee Hoyos, executive director of the Tennessee Clean Water Network, expressed disappointment.
“It is not over. We are still going to monitor the site,” she said. There could also be an appeal to Chancery Court, she said.
“Whether we do that remains to be seen. No decision has been made yet,” she said.
In its ruling, the Water Quality Control Board said the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation properly issued a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for the airport.
The board further concluded that proposed best-management practices protect water quality and that there is no evidence that the streams will be harmed by building the airport.
“Cleveland has been searching for a location for a new airport which can meet the needs of the business community in Bradley County for more than 30 years,” Ms. DeVault said.
“We are pleased that this hurdle has been cleared and progress can be made.”