SCCA Presents Testimony at Monteagle NPDES Hearing.

The previously posted TDEC NPDES permit hearing was held on March 27th at the Monteagle Armory in front of hearing officer Vojin Janjic of the Division of water pollution control. Also present at the hearing was Dr. Dick Urban of the TDEC Chattanooga field office.

The SCCA provided testmony at this hearing. SCCA Founder Bill Altemeier submitted the following written statement:


March 19, 2008
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
Division of Water Pollution Control
Sixth Floor L and C Annex
401 Church Street
Nashville Tennessee
37243
This pediatrician’s view is that allowing Monteagle Tennessee to dump 250,000 gallons of wastewater per day into the Juanita and Gilliam creeks, and an equal volume into Trussel Creek, is undesirable and unhealthy. Because of this, I recommend no increase in sewer taps be permitted until the wastewater plants are able to handle the total loads of wastewater without releasing treated or untreated sewage into these streams. Any such expansion would increase the danger to the people who live and play in the areas where these creeks drain.
As a child, I played and swam in creeks and ponds or lakes fed by creeks. People who live or visit below the South Cumberland Plateau also deserve clean and safe water for drinking and recreation, as well as drinking. Pollution of these waters with treated or untreated products of human excrement is neither safe nor fair to them. Monteagle’s treatment of this wastewater before release will reduce, but not eliminate completely, the human fecal pathogens that can be in their sewage. Such pathogens include: E. coli 0157 [the strain that can cause kidney failure as well as diarrhea and dehydration], shigella and rotavirus [diarrhea and dehydration], and salmonella [diarrhea and occasional blood infections]. Such treatment with chlorine will generally not kill cryptosporidium [diarrhea and dehydration] because it is resistant. Giardia [upset stomach, weight loss and diarrhea that can last for months] can also find its way into drinking water. Furthermore, it is impossible to treat all wastewater when volumes exceed treatment capacity, as after a heavy rain, and in this situation, raw sewage will overflow into Tennessee waters. Children are especially susceptible to infections from water contaminated with feces, and the dehydration from diarrhea caused by them is the number one infectious killer of children in developing countries where good hospital care is not available.
I believe pathogens from Monteagle sewage are released into Tennessee waters where playing and swimming children can be infected. More importantly, these same pathogens can also find their way into wells that are not sufficiently distant or isolated from the contaminated creeks to allow sanitization by ground bacteria. And parasites, especially cryptosporidium and Guardia, will be on crops grown in fields that are contaminated by water from these creeks through irrigation or flooding. Elsewhere, recent outbreaks of gastroenteritis have been linked to incompletely washed produce contaminated with cryptosporidium [commonly called "crypto"]. Lettuce and berries were incriminated, and most will remember the large number of people exposed to spinach grown in contaminated fields a year or so ago: In spite of washing, crypto caused several illnesses and led to a massive recall of the products across the country. Thus, I believe Monteagle’s sewage problems are a threat to health in our area.
As a physician and user of the South Cumberland area, I hope this problem can be fixed as soon as possible. I know this will be difficult and Monteagle should receive state or federal help for this. But it is medically untenable to allow even more sewage, from toilets in businesses or homes or not yet built or connected, to drain into these creeks. The sewer problem should be fixed, tested and found completely safe before more wastewater is permitted to flow into our streams.



William A. Altemeier M. D.
160 Vanderbilt Lane
Sewanee and Monteagle
cc: South Cumberland Community Association



SCCA President Bob Childress read the following statment into the hearing record:

Robert L. Childress
March 27, 2008

SEWER HEARING STATEMENT
Thank you for the opportunity to make a statement before this hearing committee. Although I am a licensed health care provider in the state of Tennessee, I come here this evening mainly as a concerned private citizen and the president of a newly formed community organization. A few additional words of explanation will help establish my standing before the hearing committee.
As a private citizen, I want you to know that I live on Deepwoods Road in Franklin County, just a few hundred yards from the Grundy County line. My wife and I bought our home for retirement in 2002 after a 22-year career in the U.S. Army and 10 years of civilian employment. During this time my family and I lived in numerous locations both in the United States and overseas. We were attracted to Tennessee and the South Cumberland Plateau by its inherent beauty, tranquility and of course to be closer to children and grandchildren. We purchased our home in 2002 and made the final move here in October 2004. I live in a portion of Franklin County that had been annexed by Monteagle. I am a proud citizen of Monteagle. There are about 30 other Monteagle voters that also live in Franklin County. At the time my wife and I were house hunting, it was our understanding that the anticipated development on the approximately 1200 acres across Deepwoods road would consist about 80 homes in a carefully designed and thought out subdivision. This did not happen. The property changed hands and now about 1100 residential units and an 18-hole golf course are planned for this 1200 acres. The relevance of this last point will soon become evident.

I also want you to know that I stand here before you tonight as President of the South Cumberland Community Association. This is a newly established organization that began with a few neighbors gathering for coffee and dessert to just a little over a year ago. This gathering discussed its concerns for growth and development on the South Cumberland Plateau. The South Cumberland Community Association’s mission is to guide growth and development in the region through community education and involvement. The Association promotes responsible development on the South Cumberland Plateau by encouraging informed dialogue about changes taking place in the region. Today the South Cumberland Community Association has a mailing list of 140 names. We hold well-attended bimonthly meetings. The last meeting on February 7th of this year was a panel discussion on the drought and other water issues. During the discussion two public officials from two different entities were very frank about the failing condition of the Monteagle sewer system.

For the record it is understood that the following conditions along with others have existed regarding Monteagle’s two municipal sewerage treatment plants:
the extremely high (instream) levels of E. coli, indicating insufficient disinfection of effluent being discharged to the receiving stream;
(2) Sludge is escaping the facility and entering the receiving stream;
(3) Red chironomids (blood worms) are growing in the sludge in the receiving stream because of the poor performance of the plant facilities;
(4) there is often an over-powering smell at the stream documented, an indicator of ineffective treatment; and
(5) Although Plant #1 is operating under an Agreed Order #04-0625 for these and other operational deficiencies, it is our understanding that the Monteagle has recently signed an agreement with a developer of 1100 Equivalent Residential Units (ERUs). It is not understood whether or not this is an effort to effectively exempt this developer from the moratorium imposed by TDEC on new connections to the Town's sewer system. It is additionally understood that Monteagle has waived all developer's impact fees, potentially amounting to millions of dollars, the Town could collect from this developer to use to repair and replace the failing infrastructure that may be a contributing root cause of the permit violations. The exact terms and expectations of this agreement have not been effectively communicated to the public at large.
The equivalent residential units (ERUs) mentioned above are the same ERUs in the development across Deepwoods Road that I mentioned in the first part of this statement

Any discussion of the Monteagle sewer system and its record of non-compliance would be incomplete without just a few words about the public health aspects of the entire situation. It is known that pollutants leave the surface of the plateau and travel in underground crevices, passages and caverns eventually to the valley floor and the Elk River watershed. Families in this area rely on well water. They are exposed to this pollution on a regular basis. The pollution is very real, but the totality of its adverse impact is unknown.
This leads to several questions about the permitting process. The answers to these questions must not only be clearly communicated, but also be made readily available to the public. They are:
Does this permit insure that water quality standards are met?
Are any waivers allowed from the standard? Under what circumstances are waivers allowed?
How does this permit compare to similar towns in a plateau area?
What fines have been imposed, wavered, collected and applied for corrective action?
Does granting this permit allow Monteagle to expand its sewer system?
The South Cumberland Community Association has a number of recommendations. In considering these recommendations, the following points were considered is to justify the these requests:
(1) Since the town has a history of non-compliance, it should be made to demonstrate its ability to meet NPDES permit requirement's before any new connections to its system are allowed.
(2) It is virtually impossible in the future to meet NPDES permit requirements without proper revenues to properly maintain and repair the sewer and wastewater treatment plants.
(3) Growth should pay for growth rather than asking the Town's existing citizens to pay for the sewer and wastewater treatment infrastructure needed by new development.

On February 8, 2008 TDEC levied four $5,000 fines for a total of $20,0000. Based on this letter order, the Town of Monteagle appears to have ignored regulatory compliance of deficiencies for one to two years.

Based on the record and history of the Town of Monteagle's wastewater treatment system for noncompliance with state and federal discharge regulations, the South Cumberland Community Association requests the following conditions for granting NPDES permits for effluent discharge from the Town of Monteagle's two wastewater treatment plants:
That the Town of Monteagle be subject to a complete moratorium on new connections to its sewer system and two wastewater treatment plants for a period of twelve (12) months. During which time it shall demonstrate that the effluent from such treatment plants shall meet all effluent discharge requirements and not impair any existing steams in which this effluent is discharged. If such discharge and stream impairment standards are not fully met and maintained within this twelve (12) month moratorium, then an appropriate extension of the moratorium up to thirty-six (36) month be imposed by TDEC.
2. It is suggested that the Town agrees to hire an experienced utility financial consultant or accounting firm in consultation with TDEC. The financial consultant is to perform a rate study and cost of services study for the Town and to establish rates that are at least equal to the actual cost of sewer and wastewater treatment services provided to the utility's customers. It is also suggested that the town agree to implement the recommendations for sewer and wastewater treatment services rates resulting from this study in a timely manner.
3. It is also suggested that the Town agrees to hire an experienced utility financial consultant or accounting firm in consultation with TDEC, to perform a study as to the infrastructure costs associated with adding new customers to the Town's sewer and wastewater treatment plants. It is additionally suggested that following this study that the town agrees to implement the recommendations for sewer and wastewater treatment services for impact fees or system development charges it will charge for new connections to its sewer system over and above any tap or connection fees it may be presently charging in a timely manner . This last notion brings into serious question the aforementioned agreement between the developer and the Town. Should the Town nullify this agreement? What is the exact nature and terms of this agreement? Full public disclosure of the details and implications of this agreement need to be made.
Oftentimes individuals and organizations making statements at hearings such as this want to stop something. I come to you as a concerned citizen of Monteagle because the Town needs a well run sewer system, not what exits now and has sadly existed in the past. Although my comments have been very frank and direct, I want you to know that I maintain an optimistic out look for the future of Monteagle. The recent hiring of a public works director for Monteagle is positive for the city, its citizens and the surrounding region. Monteagle is to be complimented on this positive step.

If the public health and safety of Monteagle and the entire region of the south Cumberland Plateau is to be safeguarded, the Town of Monteagle must begin to meet the required standards. Also, the State of Tennessee must continue to vigorously monitor and consistently enforce clean water standards. There must be an informed citizenry to ensure that both the Town and TEDEC carry out these very important respective functions. The responsibilities are many. Any failure of the town to meet the standards or any failure on the part of the State to enforce the standards endangers the health and safety of this community and the surrounding communities. It is my hope that TDEC and others demand that Monteagle will have a sewer system that protects the quality of life, the health and the safety of the citizens and also protects the streams and environment of the South Cumberland Plateau.

There are two considerations to keep in mind: When considering that Monteagle has not met the current limits and that the stream is already impaired, how are the draft permit limitations going to protect the water quality of the receiving stream?
Again, thank you for the opportunity to make a statement at this hearing.