Harpeth, Holston make group's list of endangered rivers

A national environmental group has named the Harpeth River one of the country's most endangered rivers as part of an effort to draw attention to 10 imperiled waterways that advocates say are approaching conservation crossroads.

"The America's Most Endangered Rivers report is a call to action to save rivers that are at a tipping point," Erin McCombs of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit American Rivers said in a statement.

The Harpeth, which runs through downtown Franklin, and the Holston River in East Tennessee were both ranked (numbers nine and three, respectively) in the organization's annual report, making Tennessee the only state to have two of its waterways listed.

That, McCombs said Monday, is "rare, but not unprecedented," adding that the report "highlights that Tennessee has a real opportunity to do the right thing."

The report says that as Franklin continues to grow, the Harpeth — beloved by local paddlers and anglers — faces rising threats in the form of sewage pollution from the city's treatment plant and drinking water withdrawals that are too much for the river's ecosystem to handle.

Franklin, an American Rivers news release said, is one of the most rapidly developing cities in the nation, compounding the Harpeth's pollution risk.

"A unique freshwater system in the Southeast, the Harpeth has reached a critical point where sewage discharge and water withdrawal threatens the health of the river, especially during the summer months when the river is naturally low flowing," Dorie Bolze, executive director of the Harpeth River Watershed Association, said in a statement.

She added that her organization hoped to work with local, state and federal agencies to "protect this Tennessee gem that belongs to everyone."

But Franklin officials take issue with the Harpeth's inclusion on the list, saying that the city's $2 million Integrated Water Resources Plan shows that the city has a sophisticated road map for ensuring the river's health.

The plan, City Administrator Eric Stuckey said, is the first of its kind in the state.

"Essentially, we're doing exactly what they've recommended," he said of the report.

Still, Stuckey said, he was disappointed that American Rivers hadn't reached out to the city about the list.

"It's taking a press release from the Harpeth River Watershed Association, and I think that's unfortunate," he said. "It's a missed opportunity for real dialogue about how to do right by the river and serve a great, growing community."

The Harpeth has long been the subject of controversy in Franklin, where the city and the association are locked in two major battles over the idyllic waterway's use.

The association has sued the city in federal court over alleged sewage discharge permit violations and has questioned the validity of the city's drinking water withdrawal permit.

The latter permit is under review by state regulators with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

The American Rivers report echoes concerns raised by HRWA, including that it's not cost effective for Franklin to continue to rely on the Harpeth for part of the city's drinking water supply and that the state should tighten drinking water withdrawal limits anyway "in order to maintain the river flows needed to protect essential habitat and aquatic life."

The organization calls on officials to hold off on approving the construction of a drinking water plant — which environmentalists say will pull more water from the Harpeth than the city's existing plant — until the state lays out the new permit terms.

The construction of that plant is slated to be put out to bid this summer, city spokeswoman Milissa Reierson wrote in an email.

Stuckey denied that the drinking water plant plans constituted an expansion — merely a much-needed overhaul of an aging system.

He said that about a third of the city's drinking water supply comes from the Harpeth, and that it's not only cost effective, according to the city's analyses, it's also important to maintain diverse drinking water sources.

Most of the city's water comes from the much larger Cumberland River, through the Harpeth Valley Utilities District.

"We can produce water at a lower cost than we can buy it," he said. "We've studied that significantly."

Meanwhile, the American Rivers report says East Tennessee's Holston River is being polluted by a U.S. Army-run ammunition plant that has been contaminating the water with "toxic chemical pollution for years."

A "highly explosive chemical" known as RDX has been found in the river, the report says, which supplies drinking water for tens of thousands of residents.

"It's critical that the state takes its enforcement responsibilities seriously and protects our clean drinking water from polluters," said Renee Hoyos, executive director of the Tennessee Clean Water Network.

The network has filed a federal lawsuit over alleged Clean Water Act permit violations.

And state regulators, the report says, have "done little to stop the RDX discharges."

TDEC spokeswoman Kelly Brockman wrote in an email late Monday that the agency hadn't had a chance to review the report, "though we agree that all Tennessee waters are deserving of protection."

She added that while she couldn't speak to American Rivers' full selection process, "we do understand that rivers are nominated by grassroots organizations for consideration on the list."

In any case, Brockman wrote, "it is important that we write permits based on data and science, in a transparent process and in accordance with our authority under the law."

"This is true for the Harpeth and Holston Rivers, and all Tennessee waters."

Reach Jill Cowan at 615-664-2150 or on Twitter @jillcowan.

America's Most Endangered Rivers of 2015

According to the environmental group, American Rivers:

1. Colorado River in the Grand Canyon (Arizona)

2. Columbia River in Washington and Oregon

3. Holston River in Tennessee

4. Smith River in Montana

5. Edisto River in South Carolina

6. Chuitna River in Alaska

7. Rogue-Smith Watersheds in Oregon and California

8. St. Louis River in Minnesota

9. Harpeth River in Tennessee

10. Pearl River in Louisiana and Mississippi