Nolichucky River Usage Jumps in June

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The industrial use of free water from the Nolichucky River jumped to nearly 20 million gallons in June, according to a report just filed with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
The brief report from US Nitrogen LLC shows that the company pumped 19.76 million gallons from the river in June. That compares to 18.85 million gallons the chemical company used in May.
In fact the daily data shows that the amount drawn from the river exceeded one million gallons on 10 days during the month. The largest daily amount was 1.236 million gallons which occurred on June 3.
US Nitrogen, which produces ammonium nitrate and related products, won the right to use the river water from two state agencies. It pays nothing for the water which is pumped to its plant in Midway through a 12 mile pipeline.
US Nitrogen, a subsidiary of Ohio based Austin Powder, also pumps excess water back into the river. In June the discharged water totaled 8.36 million gallons, down from the 9.1 million gallons discharged back into the river in May.
The most discharged in a single day was nearly 600,000 gallons discharged on June 1. Only a minimal amount was discharged to the river on June 5 and from June 22 to June 27.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com