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Friends:
Tennessee and Hamilton County recently celebrated a tremendous achievement when Volkswagen selected Chattanooga’s Enterprise South as the site to build their first automobile assembly plant in the United States since the 1980s. From firsthand experience I can tell you it was an effective partnership of local and state officials that helped power Tennessee’s successful bid to attract the world’s fourth largest carmaker. I am pleased our department worked closely with this progressive company throughout the comprehensive site selection process.
Volkswagen’s decision to locate their new $1 billion auto facility at Enterprise South affirms the tremendous work done for more than a decade to reclaim and restore this former ammunition plant site in Hamilton County. Federal, state and local partners have been committed to complete cleanup and beneficial reuse of this property that will support the environment and local economy. We are very excited about the thousands of new jobs and the corporate conservation commitment that Volkswagen will bring to Tennessee. We are already seeing this conservation ethic through commitments to increase tree cover, enhance wetlands and restore streams at their new site.
The partnership behind the landmark brownfield redevelopment at Enterprise South and the Volkswagen decision is not the only current compelling cleanup story from Hamilton County. Imagine walking through Cumberland Trail State Park and noticing discarded appliances, paint drums and old tires visible from the path. Late last year our department was alerted to such occurrences along the Cumberland Trail in northern Hamilton County. Staff from our Chattanooga Environmental Field Office conducted an assessment of this area and determined there were seven different roadside locations where household garbage, tires and other debris had been illegally dumped down a gorge close to the Cumberland Trail and an adjacent creek.
Realizing this trash not only blighted the landscape but also represented a potential environmental and health hazard, employees from our Divisions of Solid Waste and Remediation went to work on developing a comprehensive removal strategy. However, the harsh terrain and steep slope that abetted the illegal dumping also made it extremely difficult to remove the waste materials from the gorge. In fact, the cleanup required manual labor to remove a few pieces at a time from the gorge using either a crane or cart that was pulled up the hillside to waiting trucks.
With full support from Tennessee State Parks and Hamilton County, an extensive cleanup plan was executed and tons of waste materials were removed as a threat to a state park and nearby water resources. We particularly appreciate our Hamilton County partners for their roadway management during the cleanup and providing the recycling or disposal facilities for the waste after it was removed. The department and the county are now working together to install fencing along the highway to prevent this kind of illegal dumping from harming the environment and the Cumberland Trail again.
These cleanup projects at Enterprise South and along the Cumberland Trail produced results that make southeast Tennessee a better place to live, work and play. Both required a variety of partners with a common purpose and can-do attitude. I am grateful to have partners in Hamilton County and across the state committed to improving our communities by protecting human health and the environment.
Jim Fyke
Commissioner
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
