• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Section A Business & Industry • US Nitrogen Surges Ahead As Lawsuits Pile Up. 2 • Huf Opens Its Greeneville Expansion. 6 • Meco Returns To Its Roots, Adds To Its Business. 9 • Two Companies Rebuild After Fire Damage. 10 • Wine Scored Easy Win In Greeneville. 11 The Greeneville Sun March 14, 2015 Benchmarks 2015 2 THE GREENEVILLE SUN BENCHMARKS EDITION Saturday, March 14, 2015 www.greenevillesun.com US Nitrogen Should Be Operational Within A Few Months BY MICHAEL S. RENEAU emissions into liquid to be MANAGING EDITOR used in food-grade prod- ucts, such as soft drinks MIDWAY — Despite five and dry ice. pending lawsuits, vocal So by the end of 2015, opposition and a year’s three separate companies worth of controversy, the could be operating on US US Nitrogen LLC plant Nitrogen’s property. on Pottertown Road is on track to begin production of PIPELINE liquid ammonium nitrate Probably the most con- — or ANSOL — within troversial aspect of US the next few months. Nitrogen’s project is the Plant Manager Justin 12-mile double pipeline Freeark said in an inter- connecting the Potter- view in late February town Road plant with the that wintry weather this Nolichucky River, near the year has delayed some historic Conway Bridge on construction at the 500- the Greene/Cocke county acre plant site by a few border. weeks, but he added that Laying of the two pipe- construction crews have lines continues along already started winding state right-of-way on Fish down their work. Hatchery and McDonald The plant will produce roads, after permission the ANSOL for parent was granted in August company Austin Powder by the Tennessee Depart- Inc., based in Cleveland, ment of Transportation Ohio, which will use the (TDOT). liquid ammonium nitrate Freeark said that, while and other components to weather has caused some manufacture explosives delays on the pipeline, for mining, construction, SUN PHOTO BY O.J. EARLY Greene County-based etc. Construction continues on the controversial US Nitrogen-related water pipelines on Midway and McDonald Merkel Brothers Con- The US Nitrogen plant roads. This photo was taken recently near Gravel Woods Road. struction is projected to had about 400 construc- finish installing the pipe- tion crew members on-site If there are problems, acid begins. ed to transport ANSOL Freeark said. lines in the coming weeks, throughout much of 2014, it could be as much as For the first several off-site once production The simulator was cus- so as to coincide with the but the number has now 120 days between the two months, the plant will pro- levels are at 100 percent. tom-built for US Nitrogen plant’s schedule for begin- dipped below 400. milestones, he said. duce a reduced amount of A rail spur currently by a St. Louis-based com- ning production. Most work now is being nitric acid per day: a pre- under construction will pany. US Nitrogen paid Freeark said that, typi- completed by electricians AFTER INITIAL STARTUP ... liminary amount that will also make it possible to more than $1 million cally, three or four Merkel and instrument techni- Once initial startup is eventually increase. ship ANSOL off-site via just for the training pro- Brothers crews have been cians and is focused on the complete, plant operators From there, the ANSOL train car. gramming and scenarios, working at various points plant’s bunker-like control will rev up production sys- plant will come online according to Freeark. of the pipeline installation, center. tems from a standstill. — in which the produced EMPLOYEE TRAINING “It was a pretty signifi- though sometimes those Thus far, about 400,000 The first unit to come nitric acid is combined Freeark, who has cant investment,” he said. crews have split into work- feet of of electrical wire Operators must be re- ing at five or six different has been run throughout certified every three spots simultaneously. the plant site, Freeark years, and the simulator The pipelines, along said. About 250,000 wire US Nitrogen Surges Ahead will play a large role in with water withdrawal terminations still had to that process. and discharge structures be made as of February. Besides the day-to-day located in the Nolichucky As construction winds operating procedures, River’s bedrock, will allow down, the plant itself will As Lawsuits Build Up operators must be trained US Nitrogen to withdraw handed off to what Free- in disaster response, in as much as 1.9 million gal- ark called a commission- BY KEN LITTLE fore subject to state open meetings and Occupational Safety and lons of water per day and ing team — the group of STAFF WRITER open records laws. Health Administration pipe the water to its plant. technicians who will do In January, some of the plaintiffs in (OSHA) procedures, and The company has said it final, detailed checkouts Controversy surrounding construc- a lawsuit against the Greene Coun- in dealing with hazardous will use on average 1.5 of all instrumentation and tion of the US Nitrogen plant in Midway ty government filed a new complaint materials, Freeark said. million gallons per day. production systems before and a water pipeline connecting it to against the GCP in an effort to have the The training developed From there, the water startup. the Nolichucky River continued to swirl court declare the GCP a governmental for US Nitrogen employees will be used in a filtra- The commissioning in 2014. agency. has been put together by tion process, and about team will be made up of Five lawsuits focusing on different Bradley K. Lowe, Junior Belcher, a team of about nine con- 500,000 gallons per day some of the 80 full-time aspects of the project are pending in Ivonne Belcher and Park Overall — all sultants, all of whom have will be piped back to the US Nitrogen employees local courts. of whom are members of a group desig- years of industry experi- river with the same sedi- and some members of the Several may be resolved this year. nating itself “Public Spirited Citizens ence. ments originally pulled construction management “• Two of the lawsuits have been of Greene County” — filed a suit ask- “We have a very high- from the river, Freeark teams. brought by a group describing itself ing 3rd Judicial District Chancellor degree of hands-on experi- has said. All construction for the as “Public Spirited Citizens of Greene Douglas T. Jenkins to force the GCP to ence,” Freeark said. The rest will be used as US Nitrogen plant should County. release documents related to its work in the plant’s cooling water, be complete by June, he • One of the lawsuits has been 2011 to bring liquid ammonium nitrate OTHER COMPANIES which will cycle through said. brought by the Old Knoxville Highway manufacturer US Nitrogen to Greene While construction the cooling system 20-25 Utility District. County. ramps down for the US times, US Nitrogen offi- BEGINNING OF ‘STARTUP • One of the suits has been brought The lawsuit, filed on Jan. 26 in Greene Nitrogen facility, construc- cials have said. It will PROCESS’ by a different group of Greene, Cocke County Chancery Court, says that GCP tion may begin in earnest eventually be chemically At the time of the inter- and Jefferson county citizens. Partnership President and CEO Tom on two other facilities that treated and discharged view in February, plant • The fifth lawsuit has been brought Ferguson denied Lowe’s Open Records will be part of the prop- into nearby Lick Creek, officials were in the very by members of a mostly-local grassroots Act requests for the documents. erty. along with the Town of beginning stages of what organization which has designated itself The suit goes on to ask the court Yara, a Norwegian com- Mosheim’s treated waste- Freeark called the “start- “Save the Nolichucky.” to declare the GCP a governmental pany that specializes in water. up process” for the plant agency and therefore subject to the open production of agricultural Several governmental — switching on utilities IS GCP A GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY? records and open meetings laws. fertilizers, will be locating agencies, including the needed to get the plant to One area of contention is whether the a liquid calcium nitrate Tennessee Department function. Greene County Partnership is consid- facility on 4 acres of US of Environment and Con- That includes being able ered a governmental entity, and there- PLEASE SEE LAWSUITS | 3 Nitrogen’s site. servation (TDEC), the to provide potable water as The Yara facility will Tennessee Department of well as cooling water to be combine nitric acid pro- Transportation (TDOT) used to offset the extreme online will be the nitric with anhydrous ammonia worked for about 25 years duced by US Nitrogen and the Tennessee Val- temperatures generated acid production unit (the — and plant leaders will as a chemical engineer, with area limestone in the ley Authority (TVA), have during the ANSOL manu- nitric acid will later be decide at what levels the praised the training of his manufacture of liquid cal- signed off on US Nitro- facturing process; generat- combined with anhydrous plant will operate. employees. cium nitrate. gen’s plans. ing steam needed for that ammonia to produce the Every factor from the “They are some of the Freeark said construc- process; and providing a ANSOL). health of the plant equip- best-trained operators I’ve tion of the Yara facility YEAR OF CONTROVERSY flow of compressed air for With key equipment run- ment to the demand for ever experienced,” he said. could begin by June and The last year has been some of the instruments, ning, operators will ramp ANSOL from parent com- All US Nitrogen opera- will take three to six full of controversy for US and natural gas for heat- up the nitric acid produc- pany Austin Powder will tors have been training for months.

Load more

  15

Copy Link