TDEC orders Oliver Springs to fix treatment plant or face fine

Information from WYSH Radio The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has ordered Oliver Springs to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant or face a hefty fine. The state gave the town until August 31, 2015, to correct the problems outlined in the order, including several violations in the past few years dealing with system overflows and E. coli contamination. The plant discharged water into Poplar Creek. If the problems are not corrected by the end of August 2015, the town could face a fine of up to $175,000. The state also issued a moratorium on adding any new sewer customers. [Read more…]

CUB receives $200,000 Clean Tennessee Energy Grant

Gov. Bill Haslam Check Presentation

Gov. Bill Haslam announced in June that Oak Ridge had received $200,000 in Clean Tennessee Energy Grant funding for lighting at the Municipal Building and Civic Center.

The Clinton Utilities Board has received a $200,000 Clean Tennessee Energy Grant to renovate its wastewater treatment plant.

CUB was one of 19 recipients receiving $2.1 million for projects promoting energy efficiency, benefiting the environment, and helping save money, Tennessee officials said this month.

In a check presentation ceremony in June, Gov. Bill Haslam came to Oak Ridge to announce that the Secret City had received the first of the 19 awards. [Read more…]

No injuries, exposures in Oliver Springs sulfur dioxide leak

Oliver Springs Sulfur Dioxide Leak

Howie Rose, director of the Roane County Office of Emergency Services, pictured at right front, briefs firefighters responding to a sulfur dioxide leak at the Oliver Springs Waste Water Treatment Plant on Joel Road on Wednesday morning. (Photos by Tom Scott)

No one was injured or exposed to sulfur dioxide in a leak at the Oliver Springs wastewater treatment plant on Wednesday, but a small group of nearby residents were asked to stay in their homes as a precaution, City Manager Tina Treece said.

The small leak from a system connected to a 150-pound cylinder of sulfur dioxide was discovered by workers who heard an alarm when they arrived at the plant on Joel Road at about 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Treece said there was no odor in the air and it turned out that the leak posed no danger, but officials wanted to make sure conditions were safe for residents and workers.

[Read more…]