County balks at Hutch request

Jeremy Nash news-herald.net

Economic Development Agency Executive Director Jack Qualls asked Loudon County Commission Monday to consider allowing Loudon a place to dispose of concrete slab and brick that will be taken from the old Hutch property as the city looks to rejuvenate the riverfront.

Qualls requested disposing material inside the old rock quarry near the convenience center off Rock Quarry Road in Loudon, which is owned by the county.

“We are going to ask (Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation) permission as well,” Qualls said. “I’m sure TDEC will require for a inert landfill such as this to be covered in soil, so right now there is water being held in that area.”

No hazardous material should come from the waste, he said.

“The idea of taking anything from the Hutch property, whether it’s concrete slab, whether it’s brick, ... I don’t care what it is and putting it up on that site would have to be a humongous, irresponsible liability for the county to take on,” Van Shaver, commissioner, said. “It might be 20 years from now when something sneaks out of the ground up there, and I hear what you’re saying it’d just be bricks and blocks. That’s what they were saying they were doing when we had to dig it out last time.”

Even if the county were to be paid, it would be an “unnecessary risk,” Shaver said.

Qualls assured commissioners demolition would only be of the walls and concrete slabs. Asbestos and all hazardous materials will be removed as part of a separate project.

“There’s no hazardous materials at Poplar Springs either,” Shaver said. “Lesson learned, folks, I’m telling you this is a mistake we don’t have to make. This is not one that’s coming on us. This is one we can make and leave it to another generation of county commissioners to deal with. This will be a huge logistical mistake for Loudon County.”

Ultimately, the matter is something Shaver believes the county should not consider.

“It would be contingent on TDEC saying, ‘Yes, the brick and the concrete can be removed and put into the rock quarry’,” Kelly Littleton-Brewster, commissioner, said, noting TDEC’s approval will be key.

The old rock quarry in Loudon is located near the river, which posed a possible issue for Julia Hurley, commissioner.

“So no other materials whatsoever? No chemical materials?” Hurley said. “We still use all the same stuff today that we used in the ‘20s, ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, maybe even the ‘80s, we use all the same stuff. Now this current environment, the same concrete, the same bricks today that we did back then with nothing else in them.

“Nothing’s contaminated with all the asbestos and lead-based paint that was painted on everything?” she added. “It didn’t soak in, concrete’s not porous, brick’s not porous, it’s not soaking up any of that stuff and we’re completely safe to dump into something that goes into the water system? It’s just a question.”

Qualls said a timeline was likely six months out. Another location has been considered in the Sugarlimb Industrial Park near Del Conca, although it too would need consideration from the county, he said.

“This is preliminary trying to make sure that we have somewhere,” Qualls said.

Henry Cullen, commission chairman, requested Qualls come back to the county after hearing from TDEC.