Should SRM Materials, LLC (Smyrna Ready Mix Smithville Quarry) be granted a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the discharge of wastewater and storm water by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division of Mineral and Geologic Resource?
The answer may come within a few weeks.
If neighbors living near the proposed SRM limestone quarry location on North Driver Road at Snow Hill got their wish, the permit application would be denied by the state.
Several people spoke out in person against TDEC granting the permit during a public hearing held Thursday night at the county complex. Others in opposition but unable to attend either signed a list or had someone else to speak on their behalf.
Concerns raised included the potential threat the SRM quarry would pose to the environment and water quality in the area and repeated alleged state law violations by SRM at this location and other SRM facilities, among other issues. Because TDEC regulations provide for self-monitoring, many question whether SRM can be trusted to comply.
Last August the state found that SRM had been crushing at the Snow Hill location without issuance of an NPDES permit. In November SRM was again found by the state to be in non-compliance for operating without a permit and was forced by the state to halt activity at the site. Because of those violations alone, neighbors argue that the county should step in and enforce a cease and desist of SRM’s efforts to move forward since the required NPDES permit and others had either not been sought or approved prior to adoption of the county powers act last October which states in part:
“The County Clerk shall not issue a permit to operate a quarry, gravel pit, or rock crusher, cryptocurrency mine, landfill, adult entertainment or methadone clinic to any applicant who has not obtained all applicable state and/or federal permits required to operate such an enterprise or activity. The applicant’s acquisition of all applicable state and/or federal permits shall be a prerequisite to obtaining a business license or permit to operate such an enterprise or activity from the County Clerk”.
SRM has apparently not applied for a permit locally in compliance with the county powers act or provided an explanation as to why it should be grandfathered under the act.
The hearing Thursday night included public comments from Nancee Maderno (who participated by Microsoft Team), Lucas Antoniak, Steven Cantrell, Michael Antoniak, V.E. Garner on behalf of Doug Walter, Max Knudsen, Tony Clevenger (speaking for himself and for other neighbors listed who could not attend), and Krysta Eickmann.
At the end of the meeting, Jessie McBride, Office of External Affairs representative with TDEC, who served as hearing officer said “We will review all of your comments oral and written and make our decision. Based on the comments and evaluation, we can issue, modify, revise, extend the hearing, or deny the application. We can also ask for additional information and data from the applicant if needed to complete the decision process. A copy of our permit decision, response to comments, and the notice of determination will be mailed or emailed to those in our record of attendance and will also be uploaded to TDEC’s public data viewer,” she said.
Written comments related to the NPDES permit are still being accepted by the TDEC until April 7, 2025. Comments should be emailed to DMGR.PublicNotice@tn.gov or by mail to the TDEC Mining Section at 3711 Middlebrook Pike, Knoxville, TN 37921.
Thursday night’s public comment statements are as follows:
Nancee Maderno: “I oppose the granting of (permit) to SRM Materials. My husband and I own the property directly across from the proposed SRM limestone quarry”
“The only thing separating our borders is the Nashville Highway. SRM is requesting to dump industrial waste into Drivers Branch which joins our property under the highway and runs one third of a mile through our property exclusively past several wet and dry springs. Our only source of water for the homestead is a well which is a little more than 600 feet from the proposed quarry. My neighbors also rely on springs or wells for water. We have no other choice”
“In the 35 years that we have owned the property we have intentionally let it recover and let it return to its natural state. There have been no pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers used on the property since we’ve owned it. As a result, the number of fish, salamanders, crawdaddies and a variety of plants have all increased and reclaimed their natural habitats. Animals such as wild turkeys which were not present when he bought the property 35 years ago have also returned. A simple accident on behalf of SRM could erase all that”.
“At the very least, an environmental impact assessment should be performed before you even consider granting a permit to pollute Driver’s Branch. There’s too much at stake. I also believe that there are factual errors in SRM’s application we well. My well located as I said before approximately 600 feet away from the proposed mine does not even appear on the map of wells submitted with their application. What other wells might have been overlooked,”.
“From the very start of this process, SRM has behaved badly and this has been documented. How can I or any of us have faith that they can be trusted to honestly self-monitor industrial pollution they will be dumping into Drivers Branch”
Lucas Antoniak: “I’m a lifelong resident of the Snows Hill community, where I was born and currently live with my wife and daughter”.
“To begin, I believe this entire meeting is moot. By Tennessee Senate Bill 559, property owners should expect that the merits of a permit application will be judged on the law in effect at the time of application. Our county enacted the County Powers Act on October 28, 2024, and the state’s water permit details for SRM’s application shows that their application for a water permit was not accepted by the state until November 13, 2024, so they do not qualify for consideration by the county’s power’s act grandfather clause. Additionally, on their own website as today, SRM does not list the North Driver Road as an operational quarry location. SRM should recognize they are subject to our County Powers Act and withdraw from this project from further consideration”.
“With all of this said, for 8 years, I lived at 6307 Nashville Highway, which is my aunt and uncle Jim and Nancee Medrano’s property directly across from SRM’s planned site. The Medranos have owned the property for 35 years and plan to retire there within the next few years, and the current house location is approximately 600-700 feet from the quarry location with the only water source for the house being a well located next to the house, which I believe is omitted from the maps of this planned quarry. Driver’s Branch runs the entire length of their property and feeds directly into Dry Creek, a rich and clean source of water full of abundant wildlife and a resource of water for many citizens and their livestock. On the Medrano property directly across the proposed quarry, they have allowed it to return to nature and I can attest that it is a pristine sanctuary for an abundance of marine wildlife including fish, snakes, crawfish, salamanders, and herons. A 10-year-flood zone means there’s a 10 percent chance of flooding in any given year. At this property, flooding is a regular occurrence. In the 8 years I lived on that property and the years since, I can attest that intense flooding is a constant problem several times a year, enough that I would have to wade in waist-deep water to get to my car across Driver’s Branch”.
“I seriously doubt that SRM has the ability and interest to maintain the water as required by state. A simple Google search shows SRM’s history of multiple violations and non-compliance at their other sites in the state show that this is a company that does not hold to or respect the standards the state requires. If anyone wants to see what SRM will do to Driver’s Branch with their own eyes, I recommend visiting the dust-covered creek directly by SRM’s nearby Woodbury location. This is not a company that can be trusted to do their part to protect our water”.
“Additionally, I would like to add that this area is home to several large caves that are abundant in life and receive regular human visitors, including New Frontiers Christian Camp’s cave which is less than 2/3 of a mile down from the quarry location as the crow flies. I am greatly concerned about SRM’s chemical leaching into these caves water and harming the already fragile ecosystems within, as possible underground water pollution and diversion will lead to ecological collapse and greatly increase the odds of a cave collapse. New Frontiers brings hundreds of kids into this cave yearly – would you let your kid go into a cave knowing a quarry operating only 3000 feet away?”
“In closing, I want to say that Driver’s Branch and Dry Creek, which Driver’s Branch feeds into, must be protected. Beyond the rich diversity of wildlife that includes threatened species of amphibians and arthropods, many citizens of the county rely on the creek for their water and for fishing, peace of mind, and recreation, and a company with a history of non-compliance and violations should not be allowed to ruin it for their own profit. We only have one DeKalb County, and it is our duty as citizens to protect this water for generations to come by not allowing this company to contribute to its death”.
Steven Cantrell: “I appreciate the education that a number of us received prior to the formal part of this meeting. There was education in that to include that basically TDEC only has 10 inspectors for inspecting the mines across the state of Tennessee which raises a question for many of us especially for those who went and looked at the briefing that a number of the TDEC personnel participated in on December 10 in which it was highlighted that six of the seven mining operations that SRM has ongoing are in violation of state requirements. In some cases, its repeats. In some cases, based on my knowledge of the briefing that was provided to them on December 10 some of those actions have been violations or out of compliance for almost 10 months and we’re assuming that hopefully they have been corrected by this time”
“I’m very concerned with the briefing that was given because there was discussion about this is a prior quarry, but it was a quarry when the highway was built through there and all quarry operations there have ceased since that time. My concern right now is the area is basically a flat small area but everything outside that small area flows downhill. Back to my colleague’s comments (Lucas Antoniak) about flooding. That raises a lot of concerns about SRM’s capability to protect the water runoff especially considering their very poor record of doing that across the state which the Woodbury operation was considered out of compliance in that they were operating outside the permit area on December 10. I highlight that because as we, the citizens of DeKalb County are trying to express our concerns about the ability to safeguard our waters through this permitting process. The state has actually made us very concerned because most of the requirement to monitor that is self-monitoring which obviously based on the December 10 briefing of TDEC SRM has failed to adhere to those requirements”.
“Again, as a concerned citizen of this county and a state resident who is very concerned about the quality of life in the state but supports construction, I support responsible construction and, in this case, responsible quarry operations. This quarry is not in a place that will allow for efficient and safe operations”
“You (TDEC) are concerned only with the water so I will remain focused on the water. We don’t believe based on gravity that the state can ensure through the granting of that water permit and SRM that there will not be runoff, and we ask that the state look at that issue very closely. Look at what the operation will be doing when we have flooding as we had a few weeks ago and what happens in that area as opposed to what is happening on a normal day of operation. Look also at the fact that they began operation without any permit. TDEC shut them down and they began crushing stone again until TDEC caught them. Obviously, their self-monitoring didn’t help in that case. TDEC caught them and shut them down again. Seven operations in Tennessee. Six in violation. We don’t want violations here”.
Michael Antoniak: “I wish I could raise concerns here about the silica dust we’ve already dealt with, a known health risk from rock quarries. And it’s not the forum to discuss how the quarry will erode property values, threaten our rural lifestyle, peace of mind and homes families planned to enjoy into retirement. Nor have we had the opportunity to look in the eyes who seek to set this pit in our rural neighborhood for their profit, exclusively with callous disregard of everyone who calls this home”.
“Let’s turn to water, the essence of all life, and how this permit could impact all life forms along Drivers Branch and downstream. Our best hope is the state will fairly weigh the concerns of many residents against those of one corporation in its final review”
“The families bordering the quarry site on Snow’s Hill and in Chapman Hollow have no other source of water than freshwater springs or wells. These have been clean reliable sources for generations where city water does not reach”,
“On the South Driver side of the holler, across highway 70 across from the site, there are seven year-round springs and innumerable wet-weather springs.
Back in 2006, the Short Mountain Crayfish, a threatened species, was first discovered as unique to this area. The scientist who identified it, Dr. Ed Organ of liberty found it in one of those springs as he established its limited range. As far as I know the other springs and Drivers Branch have never been checked. I’ve also heard of hellbenders, an endangered species, downstream in Dry Creek and Smith Fork”.
“My sister and brother-in-law purchased the farm directly across from the proposed quarry in 1990. Their home site and well are within 600 feet. They have intentionally allowed their property to lie fallow so nature could rebuild. There has been no use of herbicides, fertilizer or pesticides on their land for 35 years, and all farming activity in this hollow stopped decades ago”.
“This permit seeks to release wastewater into Drivers Branch which runs exclusively through their farm from under Highway 79 and one third mile. At no point has anyone with the state or company contacted, consulted or advised them how this permit will impact their property.
The state may own Drivers Branch to its high-water mark, but they own the underlying land which will be most affected, that could be polluted by release of wastewater. One catastrophic release could undo everything regained”.
“Don’t they have the right to enjoy and manage land as they wish?’
“So, I request the applicant be required to conduct an environmental impact study on the south side of Driver Hollow to determine all at stake, and what could be lost to discharges from this quarry before this move forward”.
“Repeatedly this company has demonstrated it is not interested in being a good neighbor, from the blast which announced their presence, without warning, throwing rocks onto the highway and shaking homes miles around”.
“TDEC stopped work at this site twice because this company fired up without obtaining this required permit. Yet, they are still considered. Seems unfair that repeat offenders, scofflaws, get preferential treatment over homeowners trying to protect their lifestyle, their environment, the water and creatures it nourishes”.
“Will the state give more consideration to a profit-driven corporation, with no other interest in this area and despite past behavior, than law abiding citizens forced now to fight for the lives we’ve built, Drivers Branch and the water we depend on?”
“If a water source is disrupted or polluted by quarry activity, where do residents turn?”
“Based on its record of violations, we see no reason to trust this company. This permit should be denied. But if this quarry is allowed to begin operations, TDEC should advise us on monitoring the water, how to document pollution or disruption, and where to report it. We will. Thank you”.
V. E. Garner: I live directly across from the quarry I don’t actually have a statement for myself because I agree with what my neighbors have said about the impact on the water, but I am here to read a statement from a neighbor Doug Walter who is directly impacted but couldn’t be here”.
“The statement says my name is Doug Walter and I live directly across from Highway 70 from the proposed eastern end of this quarry. The eastern waterway shown on maps comes under the highway and goes in the front of my house. This water source can be directly affected by future quarry activities and affect salamanders, lizards, etc. that live in that waterway. This land has not been farmed for over 50 years so multiple species have been living undisturbed in this waterway for that time”.
“I do not feel that it is in the best interest of this community to have SRM permitted to operate another quarry in Middle Tennessee. SRM has had four violations on record as seen in TDEC records for attempting to operate prior to the permit process and potentially being issued. During the last violation the state has to ask them to remove their equipment. They also according to TDEC records available during the permitting processes have six of seven quarries in current violations”.
“Why would TDEC even consider offering a permit to SRM when they have a track record of violations in Tennessee. Why would you reward bad behavior. Based on their record, we are going to be dealing with a company that has not respected the state of Tennessee, DeKalb County, and the citizens living in this area.”
“I have managed several large companies during my career and if I had an employee performing to these standards, I would fire that person. I am respectfully asking you to consider the track record and actions of SRM and nor offer to permit another quarry for them that you will have to constantly monitor and have potential violations if you follow the track record seen in the TDEC records”.
Max Knudsen: “Several hours have already been committed to this cause. First fact: The County Powers Act was passed before the application was submitted. Second fact: This company is in violation in multiple locations. Third fact: People live in this area. People are thriving already in this area, and this is a head waters to the Liberty valley, the very first city in DeKalb County. Fact, Drivers Branch is a battleground from the civil war. There are unmarked graves of confederate and union soldiers there. Fact, Driver Branch was the location of a slave auction home for nearly one century. There are thousands of afro indigenous graves on that land. Fact, these hills and hollers are the tributaries to the Trail of Tears, and we should be talking rematriation and not continued exploitation. A wound that will never, ever be able to be healed. These are the facts. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation should perform an artifacts and archeological study. They should perform a fish and wildlife study, and they should perform for us an environmental impact study. If we want to talk about grandfathers. Those cliffs are the grandfathers”.
Tony Clevenger: “I’m here for Chapman Hollow Road. I’m here for all my neighbors (who signed a list) who can’t be here because they had to work but we don’t want it. We all have springs and well water and we don’t know what is going to happen with it. We were all raised below the hill (Snow Hill) and we all played in Dry Creek. Will our grandkids be able to play in Dry Creek? I don’t want it. We don’t want it. Theres 40 people who don’t want it but they couldn’t be here. They have to make a living”
Krysta Eickmann: “I agree with pretty much everything everyone has said. When people show you who they are you definitely should believe them. That has never proven to be wrong for me in my life when someone demonstrates through their actions how they are going to be in the future you should take note so if you approve this for SRM they are going to be in violation again. They are going to be a headache for you and a real harm to our community in terms of being able to trust them to keep that water clean”.
“How often are you going to come and check? Can we check? I would assume that if they are submitting water to you, it can’t be trusted. If you come out once a year (announced) it may be on a day when maybe they are not releasing dust into the streams when the rest of the time they are. We need to know how we can monitor them”
“If you approve this, and I don’t think you should, they have already demonstrated they don’t deserve this and to make money off this land. They knew what the rules were. They have operated in this state for a long time. They broke the rules on purpose just thinking nobody would notice. They are not people you want to do business with. They are not people we want to do business with. Clearly, they are going to do whatever they think they can get away with and that is disrespectful to our community, our state, to you (TDEC), to the land, to everything. They have demonstrated they don’t care”’
“If you approve this, I’d like to see you there once a month randomly and surprise them. We want to know how we can monitor the streams and let you (TDEC) know because we know for a fact they will not be in compliance. You have already had to come out and slap them on the wrist twice. Why do you want to deal with that anymore? I agree we need construction, and we need gravel, but these are not the people who are going to run a good gravel company that is respectful and follows the laws of our state”.