Nashville 840 Loop (TN)
Agreement brings statewide water quality consideration
©Barry Sulkin
Muddy water from the construction of 840 at Locke Falls in the Duck River Basin
After years of advocacy by Tennessee citizens, conservation groups and SELC, the state is taking significant measures to control muddy runoff from highway construction - one of the greatest water pollution problems in the state. The move is part of a settlement between the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) over State Route 840 South around Nashville.
Sedimentation caused by muddy runoff from construction is one of the major water quality problems throughout the South, and state DOT's are among the worst offenders. The construction of 840 South severely impaired the water quality in Kelley Creek, a world-class aquatic ecosystem, and other streams, focusing attention on the state's lack of runoff controls and failure to maintain clean streams.
Over several years, SELC worked with the Southwest Williamson County Community Association and others to compel the agencies to conduct the proper environmental studies of the massive loop road, and to prevent or mitigate environmental damage. We filed a lawsuit against the Corps of Engineers, which had failed to enforce the Clean WAter Act as it pertained to 840 South, and in October, 2002 filed notice of another lawsuit.
Before we filed suit, however, TDOT and TDEC reached a settlement agreement, a major step in holding TDOT accountable for its environmental neglect. Specific to the 840 project, it calls for TDOT to undertake a variety of remedial and preventative measures on 840, including the restoration of damaged streams and wetlands, biological assessments of each stream and wetland it crosses in the final segments of 840 South, and the payment of a civil penalty.
SELC and our partner groups continue to watchdog the agencies to ensure that the provisions of the agreement are carried out.
