U.S. Water News Online
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Environmentalists are fighting plans for a Cumberland Plateau wastewater treatment plant, saying it threatens one of the largest and most biologically diverse cave systems in the nation.
The opposing sides agree on two things: the cave system is worth protecting and the town of Spencer, home to 1,713 residents 50 miles north of Chattanooga, badly needs a sewage treatment plant.
They differ on whether the proposed plant will offer enough protection for the fragile ecosystem of the caves lying on the southeastern edge of the plateau.
The state Water Quality Control Board met to review its earlier approval of a discharge permit that would allow up to 250,000 gallons of treated sewage to flow into Dry Fork Creek in Van Buren County. The review was prompted after environmentalists challenged the board's process in granting the permit.
The extensive subterranean system known as Rumbling Falls Cave has only recently been discovered and only partially explored, according to Mike Hood, president of the National Speleological Society. Dry Fork Creek flows through it.
``We're really excited about this cave,'' Hood said. ``The NSS is not against the treatment facility. We agree that Spencer needs a sewerage plant. What we don't want to see is discharge into the cave system.''
Among the huge ``rooms'' in the cave is one of more than 5 acres known as the Rumble Room. It lies within the boundaries of Fall Creek Falls State Park.
Jerry Lewis, a biologist from the Louisville, Ky., area, said preliminary explorations have found 24 subspecies of cave-dwelling animals, including types of fish, crawfish and beetles.
``That puts it among the most biologically diverse in the United States, and among the top 20 on the entire planet,'' Lewis said. ``This is an extraordinary cave system. It's an incredibly rich community. It should be protected instead of making it into an outlet for sewage.''
Dry Fork Creek, as its name implies, is not much of a stream. Environmentalists say the wastewater discharge would essentially constitute the entire flow of the creek during the dry months.
The state water quality division contends the treated wastewater would not be an environmental hazard.
``It is a wonderful cave system and we certainly applaud their interest in protecting it,'' said Paul Davis, head of the Division of Water Pollution Control for the state Department of Environment and Conservation. ``The state has exactly the same interest. If the water is clean enough then it's reasonable to presume it's protected.''
Lewis said he couldn't disagree more.
``This would poison it just as surely as if you put arsenic in it,'' he said. ``It would have a devastating impact.''
Davis said the plant permit requires redundant systems, auxiliary power and places limits on the type of wastewater that can go into it, all in the interest of ensuring the wastewater will not damage the cave system.
Will Callaway of the Tennessee Environmental Council said the coalition has no argument with Spencer's need for a treatment plant. He said the group has been trying to help the city get a grant for the estimated $2 million it would take to discharge the wastewater elsewhere and spare the cave system.
``We have not had the cooperation we need to get these dollars,'' he said. ``Spencer needs a treatment plant. We'll do everything we can to help. We're trying to offer a solution.''
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