(News Channel 9) From News Channel 9: Copperhill Industries has stopped the delivery and processing of biosolids in Polk County, according to the Ten
(News Channel 9)
From News Channel 9: Copperhill Industries has stopped the delivery and processing of biosolids in Polk County, according to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC).
TDEC says the last delivery was on March 25th, 2024.
However, TDEC says material and equipment remains onsite.
This comes following a lawsuit and protests from the community.
Polk County residents and business owners protested against the biosolid deliveries back in July of 2023, saying that they were stinking up the county.
More resident protests were held in October, with concerns centering around area students.
The Polk County Schools’ superintendent told us back then that the smell from the waste seeps into classrooms.
Last year, Synagro filed a lawsuit against the City of Chattanooga, alleging that the city was “preventing them from delivering biosolids to several farms and Copperhill Industries in Polk County because of opposition from residents and media attention.”
The treated waste from Chattanooga’s Moccasin Bend wastewater treatment plant used to be delivered to the former mine in Polk County, but stopped because of neighbors’ concerns.
Biosolids are used as fertilizer and, in this case, were being used to bring back vegetation destroyed by years of mining practices.
Commissioners in Polk County passed a resolution in 2022 that banned the dumping of biosolids in the county. But the state told us last year that the resolution was not binding.
And now, in 2024, the owner of Copperhill Industries has decided to bring the delivery of biosolids in Polk County to an end.
