A water quality award to Copperhill Industries from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has local leaders asking the recognition be rescinded.
The announcement of the Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award (GESA) for Water Quality appeared on TDEC’s website Monday, August 4.
Within hours of the news reaching the Copper Basin, Copperhill Mayor Greg Barker, Vice Mayor Jake Reuse, Polk County District Three Commissioner Samantha Trantham and Monica Farrow, secretary/treasurer of the county Industrial and Economic Development Board, had contacted TDEC with concerns, objections and questions.
The News Observer also began seeking information as to the award process, but has yet to receive the requested documentation.
The TDEC announcement recognized Copperhill Industries for “a successful transformation of one of Tennessee’s most environmentally impacted Superfund sites into a model of stormwater and watershed restoration at the Davis Mill Watershed.” This was achieved through 15 years of work, culminating in “a self-sustaining site with compliant stormwater discharges, ecological recovery and innovative biosolid reclamation practices,” the award announcement said.
TDEC credited the Copperhill site as boasting 24 consecutive quarters of water quality compliance.
Farrow was first to contact
TDEC, citing the extent “to which our community suffered during the era when the company was spreading biosolids.”
She also reminded TDEC of the recent water quality violations received. In an April 2024 letter from TDEC, Denali Water Solutions, which was operating under a contract with Copperhill Industries, was cited with six water quality violations from November 13, 2023, through December 18, 2023.
Reuse echoed Farrow’s sentiments, asking TDEC, “how a recorded violator who used mishandled hazardous waste was nominated and selected for this award?”
Trantham followed with similar questions and multiple newspaper articles outlining environmental problems at Copperhill Industries to substantiate her point.
“To the residents of Copperhill, this recognition is an absolute insult,” Barker wrote.
The mayor continued, “Under the banner of ‘reclamation,’ our community bore the burden of truckload after truckload of biosolids being brought here from metro Atlanta and Chattanooga. We were told this was part of healing the land from the decades of industrial and mining pollution that scarred our landscape and poisoned us. In reality, what we experienced was the steady importation of more waste – with little transparency, limited oversight, and no regard for the people who live here.”
TDEC’s immediate response was, “We are working on a response in consultation with leadership and will have a response tomorrow morning.” That came from Kathy Glapam, operations manager in the Office of Sustainable Practices.
To which Barker replied, “The question at hand should be straightforward: why was Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award granted despite six documented TDEC violations? This is a basic matter that warrants a clear, timely explanation. I do not understand why that clarification is so complex.”
Tara W. Pedraza, director in the Division of Stateholder Development for TDEC, responded Thursday.
She said the water quality award to Copperhill Industries “seeks to acknowledge ongoing environmental efforts that meet current standards, demonstrate measurable positive outcomes, and contribute to long-term improvement.”
Pedraza said one requirement is maintaining a positive environmental compliance record for the past three years. “Copperhill Industries has had no compliance issues with our department for the past three years,” she wrote.
“This transformation from a severely degraded landscape to a site now supporting cleanup, restoration, and recreation was a key factor in the nomination. We believe the watershed improvements are real and meaningful, though we also understand they may not align with every resident’s experience or perspective,” she wrote.
Pedraza’s response drew heated rebuttals from Barker, Reuse and Farrow.
Barker wrote, “Those of us who live here know this ‘celebration’ is another attempt to conceal reality...Your response confirms my point: Copperhill Industries is not eligible for this award.”
“Framing this award as recognition of ‘current efforts’ ignores that it rewards an entity tied to repeated violations and to a cleanup approach – the application of biosolids – that is itself a highly debatable practice.
“There is evidence that this method can cause additional pollution, raising serious questions about whether the ‘restoration’ being celebrated is truly safe,” Barker wrote.
Barker concluded the award “further erodes” trust in TDEC and the credibility of the award program.
Reuse agreed, writing, “I would think that recorded and documented violations with TDEC would serve to disqualify Copperhill Industires. Is it a typical practice for repeat violators to be given environmental stewardship awards from TDEC?” he asked.
Farrow reminded Pedraza, “This award is much like the biosolids operation, anything but transparent.”
Still, “I do realize that there was probably a mistake in prematurely awarding Copperhill Industries a GESA, and I also know that you will not rescind it. Sadly, there is little recourse for your efforts, and for that, I am heartbroken for my community,” Farrow wrote.
However, relying on TDEC’s position of clean water coming into the Ocoee River from the Superfund site, Farrow wrote, “If the water is now award-winning, can you start work with the city (Copperhill) on piping water to the Grassy Creek community via Davis Mill Creek? The increase in population has created a well water shortage.”