Tennessee River on conservation group's danger list

East Tennessee
Tennessee River on conservation group's danger list
By Morgan Simmons
News-Sentinel staff writer

TVA's proposal to eliminate its federally funded nonpower programs puts the Tennessee River on the endangered list, a conservation group says.

The American Rivers Association placed the Tennessee on its annual list of the 10 most endangered rivers in the country, contending TVA's proposal risks "further degradation of an already heavily damaged river."

Ranked first and second on the Washington-based, nonprofit group's list of the most threatened and endangered rivers of 1997 are the Missouri River and the upper Hudson River.

Speaking at a press conference held Wednesday at Knoxville's Riverfront Park overlooking the Tennessee River, Dr. John Nolt, an environmental ethics professor at the University of Tennessee, said while pollution of the Tennessee River has lessened over the past 20 years, some of the river's tributaries are still severely affected by industrial waste.

Citing a 10-year study conducted by the Foundation for Global Sustainability, Nolt said Eastman Chemical Co. at Kingsport is the worst polluter on the tributaries, followed by Champion International at Canton, N.C., and North American Rayon at Elizabethton, Tenn.

Other pollution problems cited by Nolt include: bacterial contamination from leaking sewer lines and septic tanks, agricultural and urban run-off, siltation in TVA reservoirs and toxic wastes that have prompted the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to post 35 locations in the upper Tennessee Valley as unsafe for fish consumption and body contact.

"Unfortunately, the designation by the American Rivers Association is appropriate," said Nolt. "We have a river in trouble."

The Tennessee River system is the fifth largest in the United States, with a watershed covering some 41,000 square miles. The river is home to 241 species of fish and 100 species of freshwater mussels.

numerous wading birds and waterfowl.

Tom Thornburgh, a board member of Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning, said TVA nonpower programs not only benefit the Tennessee River but also the public at large by exerting control over indiscriminate and inappropriate shoreline development, by providing public access and campgrounds around lakes and by protecting ecologically significant parcels of land through the Small Wild Areas Program.

Speaking for the Tennessee Valley Energy Reform Coalition, Dr. Stephen Smith called for the establishment of a regional oversight commission to assure TVA maintains its environmental stewardship after it moves into a more competitive environment.