The Tennessee Department of Transportation has denied U.S. Nitrogen LLC’s plans to run water and effluent lines over state right-of-way from its plant in Mosheim, Tenn., to the Nolichucky River. While state environmental authorities had granted the company a water permit for the pipeline, TDOT said that such pipelines are limited to only utilities and that U.S. Nitrogen is not a utility.
The news took both supporters and opponents by surprise. Despite the news, the decision came from a TDOT regional office in Knoxville, Tenn. Sources say TDOT officials in the state capitol of Nashville are supportive of the project and are likely to overrule the Knoxville office. Locals also maintain that other industries have been allowed to run pipelines on state right-of-way.