CALHOUN, Tenn. – People filled the cafeteria at Calhoun Elementary School on Thursday evening to express concern about water quality on Oostanaula Creek where a limestone quarry is being proposed.
A public hearing was conducted by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation as part of its consideration for a water pollution permit from the state.
But not everybody was opposed.
“I’m for it,” said Horace Swafford before the hearing began. “We own property that joins it. But we are for the jobs. There’s a lot of people without jobs.”
“There’s a quarry in Athens. There’s a quarry in Cleveland. They haven’t fallen down yet,” said his wife Edith Swafford.
Richard Brannon said he was concerned about water quality.
“There are a lot of people with wells in the area,” he said.
During the hearing, Mike Brown, a farmer who operates an extensive vegetable farm and hires dozens of workers, said new food safety rules mean he must have an independent auditor for water quality. Possible pollution from the quarry worries him.
“If they (the auditors) come in the middle of the summer and shut me down – I’m done,” Brown said.
Lena Beth Carmichael, from the UT Extension Service office in Athens, told the audience that Oostanaula Creek is already on the state’s “dirty water” list because of E. coli pollution from farms. But, she said, a communitywide effort with state and federal funding has been working toward a cleaner creek for years now. Now, she fears there may be new pollutants.
“I’d really hate for us to work on water quality the whole length of the county and then lose next to the (Hiwassee) river,” she said.
Scott Alexander is president and chief operating officer of Avenrock Materials, which owns the company that would operate the quarry.
“It’s typical,” Alexander said about community concern before the hearing began. “People fear the unknown.
“When we are in a community for a while, we have people tell us they are glad we are there,” he said. “We adopt schools. We donate materials. But you have to be there a while.”
Some company officials also blamed competitors for spreading rumors.
The company already has been granted an air quality permit from TDEC. Department representatives said Thursday that public comments will be considered as part of the water permit decision. Written comments to TDEC are being accepted through Nov. 29.