by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the Aug. 29 Monteagle Town Council meeting, city engineer Travis Wilson presented results from the Water and Sewer Capacity Study underway since February 2021. Addressing flooding on July 30 from stormwater runoff at the RBT/Petro construction site, Wilson recommended adopting a “flooding ordinance.”

“It makes sense to provide overall protection of flooding throughout the whole drainage basin and the town,” Wilson said. Consultation is underway with the Municipal Technical Advisory Service. Not satisfied with the strategy, residents expressed concern about hydrocarbons entering the drinking water supply from untreated storm water shed by the Petro truck stop once completed.

Summarizing the Capacity Study, Wilson said the water supply had 70 percent remaining capacity, however, lower capacity existed in some areas depending on density of development and distance from the water plant. The sewer system study showed 49 percent remaining capacity in dry weather. “The catch is wet weather,” Wilson said. The sewer system could handle a 1-inch storm in 24 hours, but in a 2-inch storm rainfall exceeded capacity by 200,000 gallons and in a 3-inch storm rainfall exceeded capacity by 400,000 gallons. “What that means is you have excessive I & I,” Wilson said, explaining I & I referred to inflow and infiltration from storm water entering the sanitary sewer system. He said sewer lines from the Monteagle Assembly and Tracy City were the two largest “triggers” for I & I and recommended additional flow monitoring and “TV” examination of the lines during wet weather to determine what areas needed repair. Monteagle has qualified for grant funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission and American Recovery Plan (ARP) for sewer rehabilitation.

Responding to concerns about runoff entering Laurel Lake from the July 30 flooding, Wilson read an Aug. 5 correspondence from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) which stated, “Cloudy water was observed flowing from the lowest sediment track, but there were no sediment deposits off site.” TDEC regulates pollution, not flooding, Wilson stressed. He said the 15-acre Petro site accounted for only 1 percent of the runoff into the 1,200-acre Laurel Lake drainage basin.

Several residents disagreed with the assessment, citing the red hue of water in the creek as runoff evidence. Utilities manager John Condra said “turbidity,” cloudy water, could be treated at the water plant. Alderman Nate Wilson concurred but observed treating turbidity increased the treatment cost.

Resident Lucy Keeble pointed out TDEC investigated five days after the flooding and insisted, “Once the red clay is replaced with hydrocarbons [from the Petro site], we will have something that doesn’t silt out.”

Engineer Jim Waller, who designed the drainage system for the Miami airport, said the Petro site shed 9.8 million gallons of water in 24 hours. “When it’s paved, it will be worse,” Waller stressed. “It will be hydrocarbons instead of silt. The main source of hydrocarbon pollution in the United States comes from places where they have refueling stations and truck plazas.” Waller said the Petro building permit had expired and insisted a new site plan be submitted which adequately addressed storm water treatment.

“TDEC sent [Monteagle] a certified letter stating they [the RBT developers] are polluting Laurel Lake,” said resident Will Foehring. “You got it a long time ago. It wasn’t recent.”

Alderman Wilson acknowledged the need for storm water regulations that “will address not only sediment, but also hydrocarbons.” He observed, according to the state, the detention pond treatment called for at the Petro site was “adequate for sediment, but whether it’s adequate for our terms is something that needs to be talked about.” He added the RBT developers “are now having to the stabilize the site and stop [the runoff] from happening.”

Mayor Marilyn Campbell Rodman said she did not know if the RBT permit had expired and would look into it.

Keeble also questioned whether the 70 percent capacity figure cited for Laurel Lake took into account drought, pointing to past extreme drought conditions. Rodman said Monteagle had agreements with neighboring water utilities to supply water in the event of drought.

In other business the council approved contracting with LJA Engineering for engineering services paid for with an ARP grant and approved appointing Southeast Tennessee Development District to administer the ARP funds, in keeping the ARP requirement for an outside administrator.

The council also approved on second reading an ordinance amendment allowing apartments as a special exception on property zoned C-2 commercial. A resident questioned allowing apartments in C-2. Alderman Wilson explained the town likely had too much commercial property and not enough residential property and was considering possible changes to the zoning map in addition to the amendment.

Taking up the terms of office ordinance, the council voted to amend the rule to stipulate that for the upcoming election cycle the two alderperson candidates receiving the most votes would serve four years, and the next two highest vote winners would serve two years to allow for staggered four-year terms beginning with the 2024 election cycle.

Rodman reported on meeting with the Tennessee Association of Utility Districts. Monteagle has not had a water utility rate increase in 12 years and rates were not adequate to cover expenses, Rodman said. The council discussed increasing the commercial tap fee and whether the fee should fluctuate depending on the installation cost of the job.

Asked about possible codes violations at Rocky Top Truck Stop, codes enforcement officer Travis Lawyer said he would allow owner Rodney Kilgore until the fall to comply with landscape planting requirements given the weather. The possible fencing violations depended on “what you called the finished side and unfinished side of the fence,” Lawyer said. By ordinance, the finished side must face out. A third possible violation stemmed from the large number of vehicles parked on the lot, since Kilgore’s permit did not allow a junk yard. Lawyer will speak with Kilgore to clarify the issues in question. “I’m a believer in mediation,” Lawyer said.

The Monteagle Trunk or Treat will be Oct. 27, 5-8 p.m., at Monteagle Elementary School with both inside and outside activities including a hotdog supper for $6.