Concrete company to submit 'corrective' plan

December 15, 2005
Horizon Concrete has just over two weeks to submit a corrective action plan and written response to a state-issued notice of violation regarding runoff from its Beckwith Road facility in Mt. Juliet.
In a certified letter to Horizon President Terry Weatherly dated Dec. 14, a copy of which was obtained by The Lebanon Democrat, Donald J. Ey of TDEC's Division of Water Pollution Control explained the notice of violation was "not a legal action in itself" but added "such violations may lead to enforcement action."
Ey conducted a complaint investigation at the Beckwith Road facility Dec. 7, shortly after receiving a complaint from Mt. Juliet Stormwater Coordinator Gary Gaskin.
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation spokesperson Dana Coleman said Gaskin reported Horizon Concrete may have been allowing water runoff from a truck washing area to flow into a tributary of Sullivan Branch.
Joey Holland, a member of the Division of Water Pollution Control's Nashville field office, said "suspended solids" contained in runoff from washing concrete trucks could "settle out on the stream bottom and smother out aquatic organisms."
In his letter to Weatherly, Ey wrote: "Based on the previously observed condition of the tributary to Sullivan Branch on July 1, 2005, there has been a significant increase in the solids deposited in the stream since that date.
"There has not been a reported discharge from the facility for the months of July, August, September or October 2005, based on the discharge monitoring reports submitted to the Division," he added.
Records on file with TDEC indicate Horizon Concrete holds a Ready Mixed Concrete NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) General Permit which identifies Sullivan Branch as the receiving stream.
However, "the magnitude of accumulated soils in the tributary" and no reports of discharge from the facility "indicate inadequate monitoring and sampling procedures and the submission of inaccurate and/or falsified reports," Ey wrote.
Failure to properly monitor discharge flow, report self-monitoring data and collect representative samples from the discharge are violations of Horizon's permit, he continued.
"The failure to contain the solids on the facility is also a violation of the NPDES permit," Ey's letter read. "Causing a condition of pollution, due to the solids deposition in the tributary, is a violation of the Tennessee Water Quality Control Act."
One day prior to Ey's inspection, Horizon Concrete partner Gordon Bone said the company plans to relocate the facility near the rear of the existing site prior to year's end, effectively eliminating any violations.
"The issue won't exist when we relocate," Bone told The Democrat. "It hasn't existed until recently. The little overflow pond where you wash your trucks out when you come back on the job, it's just running over."
In the letter to Weatherly, Ey noted he "scrutinized" the current and relocated facilities and was unable to find a permit or notice of intent regarding the relocation.
"As construction is still ongoing at the relocated facility, a sufficient amount of time may remain to obtain timely permit coverage," Ey wrote.
Staff Writer Brian Harville can be reached at 444-3952 ext. 16 or by e-mail at brian.harville@lebanondemocrat.com.