TDEC and Trinity justify phosphorus gas release to critical county officials (MS Maury)
In the afternoon on Dec. 19, 2024, two people saw a large bank of white fog spreading over the ground at the old Monsanto property northwest of Columbia. They each took video footage with their cell phones and sent it to county officials: one to County Commissioner Gabe Howard, and one to Solid Waste director Matthew Turner.
County leaders were told by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation that the fog was phosphorus oxide gas, released during clean-up operations at Superfund Site 3 on the former Monsanto property. On Dec. 19, workers hired by Trinity Business Group, the owner of the land, dug up large drums of elemental white phosphorus buried during the Monsanto years and drove them to a concrete foundation at the old plant site, to "dissipate" in the air and become harmless.
"[T]he material [was] allowed to oxidize on the inert concrete pad to the point that its production of smoke has ceased," explained Jennifer Donnals, a senior communications advisor for TDEC, which approved and supervised the phosphorus excavation and gas release.
White phosphorus is too chemically unstable to exist in nature - the element bonds with oxygen to produce phosphate, one of the minerals in the ground that attracted several chemical companies to Maury County in the last century. According to the Stanford chemistry website, the contact of white phosphorus with air "produc[es] an irritating, dense white smoke of phosphorus oxides" which is "highly irritating to the eyes and respiratory tract."
County leaders were very troubled when they first learned that this gas was released into the open air. Commissioner Howard posted on Facebook about it the next day, warning people to stay away from the area and angrily denouncing the gas release and how the county was kept in the dark about it.
"TDEC is aware of this, [but]... our local County Officials knew nothing about this until today," he said on Dec. 20. "The safety and integrity of our local environment are of the utmost importance, and any activity that puts our health, our waterways, and our livelihoods at risk must be taken seriously."
Mayor Butt also confirmed that day that TDEC approved the gas release but didn't inform the local government.
A similar series of events took place in 2021, when Trinity Business Group wanted to dig a landfill on the same Monsanto property, even within 1,000 feet of the Duck River on the property's northeast side. Trinity got approval for their landfill plans from TDEC (which environmental-advocacy groups have criticized for being overeager to sign off on possibly detrimental projects and requests); theirs was the only approval Trinity required. But neither the company nor TDEC told Maury County what they planned to do in their backyard. Only an alert citizen, who spotted signs of industrial activity at the property and informed county leaders, brought the landfill project and its concomitant problems to public attention.
TDEC has consistently denied that public health threats are posed by the gas release, which seems to have taken place at a significant distance from other properties.
"We received an email from Cameron Swanson with TDEC... who says they had an inquiry asking if there were any health issues regarding the smoke," said Mayor Butt on Dec. 20. "Mr. Cameron’s answer, and I quote: 'Based on historical data, there are none.'"
Studies by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, which Butt cited, indicate that phosphorus oxide gas is very irritating but poses no known threats to one's long-term health. However, exposure to white phosphorus, the substance being excavated and oxidized, is extremely dangerous: touching or ingesting a lump of white phosphorus causes symptoms from vomiting and burns to death, depending on the amount, and prolonged exposure to its particles causes degenerative diseases like "phossy jaw" and brittle bones.
Jennifer Donnals of TDEC agreed with Swanson that the public was safe from the phosphorus oxide gas.
"During excavation activities, [Trinity's] consultant monitored air quality," she told Main Street Maury. "All data submitted by the owner’s consultant to the Division indicate that there was no exposure to the public from the onsite activities."
Donnals also explained that the gas release was part of Trinity's attempt to clean up Superfund Site 3, where Monsanto dumped hundreds of barrels of wasted phosphorus from 1950-1978. Most of the elemental phosphorus has already "oxidized in place," turning back into inert phosphate or some other compound and settling in the soil; Trinity's workers only took the remaining elemental phosphorus and drove it in a dump truck to the old "concrete pad," to smoke away until it too bonded with atmospheric oxygen and became harmless.
After not speaking much to county officials, TDEC representatives finally met with Mayor Butt last Monday to discuss the future of the project. TDEC's Department of Remediation agreed to three conditions for future work, she said.
"Maury County Solid Waste [will] be notified in advance of any planned burns," Butt told Main Street Maury. "The daily volume of work that was performed in December of 2024 [will] be lessened[, and] the burns [shall] be monitored."
Donnals clarified that the phosphorus was allowed to "oxidize" on Dec. 19, not to "burn" (since burning it would have released much more noxious compounds).
Columbia Power & Water Systems offering help with online portal signup (MSM)
Columbia Power & Water Systems is offering customers in-person assistance with signing up for the company’s new SmartHub online portal during three sessions during March.
Sessions will be held on March 12, 19 and 26 at the CPWS Service Center, located at 201 Pickens Lane in Columbia. Customers must make an appointment ahead of time and can do so by calling (931) 375-7795.
Jonathan Hardin, President & CEO of CPWS, said, “We are pleased to be able to offer our customers one-on-one assistance signing up for our new customer portal SmartHub.”
Sessions are for residential customers only and to make a reservation, your name must be on the account. Customers must bring their photo ID and account number (located on your CPWS bill) with them on the day of the appointment.
Customers registering must do so by noon Monday for that week’s session and must have an email address that can be accessed to verify registration during the appointment. CPWS recommends using an email account on your mobile device that can be accessed.
Those who want assistance with setting up Autopay can also do so at these sessions, provided they have their payment information available with them.
CPWS staff will not be able to look up account information, take payments or answer billing questions at these appointments.
Accessing the SmartHub portal is necessary to set up Variable Billing for customers, which has replaced its previous Budget Billing policy. According to CPWS, Variable Billing averages your last 12 months of bills, each month, and helps your bill be more consistent month-to-month.
To sign up for Variable Billing, customers can login to their SmartHub account, select Variable Billing from the Bill & Pay menu, and enroll or call CPWS Customer Service. Customers with an outstanding bill will need to pay that bill prior to enrolling in Variable Billing.
Spring Hill student attends president's speech to Congress (MS Maury)
Middle Tennessee State University College of Education senior Haley Ferguson, a Spring Hill native, was among 15 “Everyday Americans” invited as special guests by First Lady Melania Trump to attend President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4, in Washington, D.C.
“I’m very grateful I was able to attend this historic day. It's an honor to be recognized on such a prestigious occasion,” said Ferguson, an elementary education major in MTSU’s Department of Elementary and Special Education.
Ferguson, a former foster child, received the Fostering the Future scholarship created by the First Lady as part of her "Be Best" campaign, which focuses on battling cyberbullying and promoting youth wellbeing.
“(Ferguson) benefitted from the First Lady’s Fostering the Future initiative and is poised to complete her education and become a teacher,” Trump said in his speech Tuesday.
The scholarship aims to prepare its recipients to enter the workforce and reach financial independence.
Ferguson was informed she would receive the honor through a phone call from a White House liaison who had connected with Joe Bales, vice president for University Advancement at MTSU.
“I was honestly shocked that they chose me and very thankful,” said Ferguson, who was quick to recognize her university, too. “Go Blue Raiders!”
While cellphone use was restricted for guests inside the Capitol, Ferguson said she is awaiting a copy of an official photo she was able to take with the first lady as a keepsake.
Columbia State hosts “So, you want to be a teacher” (Release)
Columbia State Community College recently hosted two events with high school students from southern Middle Tennessee where aspiring teachers received vital information about careers in education.
Students from several local high schools, including those in Maury, Williamson and Lawrence counties, saw presentations about the education program offerings at Columbia State followed by a tour of their nearby campuses in Franklin and Columbia.
Columbia State degree paths discussed in the presentations included: Associate of Science degrees in Teaching, Early Childhood Education (Pre-K-3), Elementary Education (K-5) and Physcial Education, along with Secondary Education options in English, Mathematics, Social Studies and Special Education.
The presentations offered details about each degree requirement and what students can do while still in high school to successfully prepare for their next step in education.
“I need you to be active in high school,” said Kirstin Senske, Columbia State program director and associate professor of education. “I need you to be in clubs, I need you to do service projects — all of those things look really great on your teacher resume. I also need you to get good grades, and I need you to get a 21 or higher on your ACT.”
The events featured conversations from active teachers, school principals and current students in Columbia State’s education program. This offered a true picture into the working life of educators, as well as what the college course load for education students looks like.
One of the many topics discussed centered around the best characteristics for a teacher to have in the classroom.
“I think one of the most important traits to have is flexibility and adaptability, because you never know what you're going to walk into,” said Maty White, a fifth-grade math teacher. “You’ve always got to be quick on your feet to be able to switch gears, which was something that I was never really good at until I became a teacher and was thrown into it, and you just had to figure it out.”
“One of the most important things is just being fully committed to students and remembering your why if you decide to go into education,” said Amanda Fuller, an elementary school principal. “Every kid in your classroom is somebody's world, just like your parents have felt about you through your education. And so, coming in every day, knowing that the job can be hard at times, but it's also extremely rewarding.”
Offering a real picture of being a teacher in the modern workforce was also a priority.
“Being a teacher is hard work,” Fuller said. “And I think a lot of times people talk about, ‘Oh, you have summers off, and you get the holidays.’ Those things are true, and those are perks that are really nice, but it is hard. It is hard work, but it is also so rewarding, and you have an opportunity to really invest in the future for the next generation.”
Students who enroll in an associate degree program at Columbia State may also be eligible to participate in tuition-free scholarship programs such as Tennessee Promise or Tennessee Reconnect. The associate degree paths are for students who intend to transfer to a four-year college or university to complete a bachelor's degree.
For more information on the education paths Columbia State offers, visit www.ColumbiaState.edu/Teaching.
Tennessee first state to ban AI app Manus (The Center Square)
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee banned the Chinese app Manus and joined other governors in prohibiting DeepSeek from state-owned devices.
Manus, owned by the popular Chinese tech company Alibaba, debuted on Thursday as a rival to DeepSeek. Tennessee is the first state to ban Manus.
The apps pose a threat to data privacy and cyber security, the governor said.
"Tennessee has taken consistent action to mitigate risk from platforms with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, including TikTok, and banning Manus and DeepSeek on state devices will further reduce security risks to Tennesseans," Lee said.
Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti warned consumers about DeepSeek.
"DeepSeek creates real risk for both our country and our consumers," Skrmetti said. "Any private citizen thinking of using DeepSeek needs to be sure they understand the ramifications for their privacy and their security."
The data is not strongly encrypted, and there are no limits on how the Chinese government could use it, according to Skrmetti's office.
Skrmetti signed a letter to Congressional leadership along with 20 other attorneys general calling on them to put limits on DeepSeek.
Congress has also raised concerns about DeepSeek. U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., introduced the "No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act" in February. The bill would prohibit the app on federal technologies with exceptions for law enforcement and national security-related activities.
Report shows growth in Tennessee economy (The Center Square)
More than 73,000 new business entities filed with the Tennessee Secretary of State in 2024, according to the Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators report.
The report released by the secretary of state's office shows 16,616 new entities were established in the fourth quarter.
Business renewals were up 31.8%, according to the report.
"A high level of business filings typically leads to job growth, as well as personal income and state revenue increases," Secretary of State Tre Hargett said in a conference call.
Hamilton County had the most significant percentage increase in new business filings, with a 10.2% growth rate.
“These numbers provide even more evidence that the state’s economic growth is stable and settling into what appears to be a new post-pandemic normal,” said Don Bruce, director of the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research, which compiles data from the report. “Echoing data from our ongoing Business Leaders Survey, Tennessee continues to be a business-friendly state both for established businesses and also for new ones trying to get their feet off the ground.”
The Tennessee Business Leaders Survey shows 75.9% of respondents feel as if the state is on the right track. Nearly 73% said state government is doing "good" or "excellent" in helping their business succeed.
Tennessee is outpacing the nation in two key areas, Hargett said.
Personal income grew 3.5% over the previous quarter and reached $472.6 billion in the fourth quarter. When adjusted for inflation, real personal income is up 1.9%, higher than the national rate of 1.6%.
The Volunteer State outpaces the nation in unemployment, which is at 3.6% compared to the national rate of 4.1%.
ICE Enforcement Up Almost 300 Percent in Davidson County During First Month of Trump Administration (Nashville Banner)
Since President Donald Trump took office in January, immigration enforcement activity at Nashville jails has surged, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials making more detention requests and taking more people into federal custody for deportation proceedings. In February — Trump’s first full month in office — ICE agents picked up nearly four times as many people from Nashville jails as they did in the same month last year under the Biden administration, according to the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office.
Trump’s presidential campaign was headlined by his pledge to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, a group of people he has referred to as “animals” and accused of “poisoning the blood of our country.” But while Trump administration officials often have claimed their focus would be on deporting violent criminals, a Nashville attorney told the Banner that ICE is pulling people into deportation proceedings after even the most minor offenses.
Karla West, the chief of staff for the sheriff’s office, told the Banner that the office’s policies and practices have not changed. The DCSO does not contact ICE about people held in the jail, she said, and has not done so since Sheriff Daron Hall pulled the city out of the 287(g) program, which effectively made sheriff’s deputies an extension of federal immigration enforcement, in 2012. However, the DCSO’s booking system automatically sends information about people who have been arrested to ICE, NCIC, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. As sheriff’s office spokesperson Jon Adams told the Banner in October, ICE has “all the information to make a decision to inquire further about any arrestee in Davidson County.”
ICE officials can make what’s known as immigration detainer requests, asking local law enforcement to detain an undocumented immigrant “for up to 48 hours beyond the time they would ordinarily release them.” A law passed by the state legislature last year requires local law enforcement agencies in Tennessee to honor those requests. Once the request is made, ICE has two days to take the person into custody.
In recent years, many detainer requests did not lead to a visit from ICE agents to take a person and transition them into deportation proceedings. In February 2024, according to DCSO data requested by the Banner, ICE made 33 detainer requests to Nashville officials and took just 11 of those people into custody. But last month, under Trump, the DCSO received 75 requests to hold people in jail, 42 of whom were later picked up by ICE agents.
While Trump and his allies have said they are focused on locating and removing violent offenders, Sluder said ICE has always done that.
“It is uncontroversial for people convicted of violent crimes to be deported,” he said.
The agency’s intensified focus on local jails, though, means people well beyond that category will be caught in the dragnet.
“I think we’re gonna see this more and more where they’re taking people who are not even convicted, but just charged with minor offenses,” he said.
Columbia Power & Water Systems Leads the Way in Water Conservation (Release)
Columbia Power and Water Systems (CPWS) stands out as a leader in water conservation, boasting one of the lowest leak losses in the region. While many water systems in the area struggle with leak losses approaching 40 to 50%, CPWS has maintained a remarkably low loss rate consistently in the 10-15% range.
City of Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder stated, “The work that Columbia Power and Water Systems has done to reduce water loss is a testament to the dedication and expertise of our community's public utility staff. By leading the region in water conservation, CPWS is ensuring that our residents have access to reliable water while also preserving one of our most vital resources. We are proud to support their continued commitment to sustainability and operational excellence.”
This achievement is no accident—it is the result of CPWS’s proactive approach to system maintenance and leak detection. The utility continuously monitors and improves its infrastructure, ensuring that leaks are identified and repaired swiftly. By doing so, CPWS not only enhances the efficiency of its water distribution system but also minimizes unnecessary strain on the Duck River, a vital water source for the community.
Jonathan Hardin, President and CEO of Columbia Power and Water Systems, said, "CPWS has a long tradition of excellence in prioritizing a water treatment and distribution system of the highest integrity, and our current staff is proud to continue those efforts by using the best technologies available."
Water loss due to leaks is a significant issue for utilities, leading to wasted resources and higher operational costs. CPWS’s commitment to maintaining one of the lowest leak rates in the region reflects its dedication to responsible water management and sustainability. By investing in ongoing leak detection and system upgrades, CPWS ensures that customers receive reliable service while protecting this essential natural resource.
April Grippo, Director of the Division of Water Resources, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), remarked, "TDEC commends Columbia Power and Water System for having one of the lowest water loss rates across Tennessee. For many years, CPWS has managed to conserve water from the Duck River Watershed while providing efficient service to the citizens of Columbia."
As other utilities grapple with increasing water loss, CPWS continues to set the standard for efficiency and environmental stewardship. Its diligence in reducing leaks not only benefits the community today but also helps secure a sustainable water future for generations to come.
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