Final phase of Superfund cleanup set to start near downtown Knoxville

(Correction: An earlier version of this article included photos that were not of the Smokey Mountain Smelters Superfund site, but of a neighboring property. The correct property is pictured above. We regret the error.)

The Environmental Protection Agency is set to start work this month on the final phase of the cleanup of a contaminated former industrial site near downtown Knoxville.

The EPA will be in Knoxville on Feb. 13 for a public meeting to tell residents about the next steps in its cleanup of the Smokey Mountain Smelters Superfund site in South Knoxville.

The meeting will be 6-7:30 p.m. Feb. 13 at the South Knoxville Community Center, 522 Maryville Pike.

Located at 1508 Maryville Pike, the Smokey Mountain Smelters site is within 75 feet of Montgomery Village, a low-income apartment community, which includes recreational areas and a daycare center, according to the EPA. There also are single-family homes in the area.

From the 1920s to '60s, the site housed different agricultural chemical and fertilizer companies. Starting in 1979, Rotary Furnace Inc., also known as Smokey Mountain Smelters, operated there until 1994.

The operators used to recover aluminum by melting down metals, according to a 2011 Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation fact sheet about the site.

Local and state officials began focusing on the operation in the 1980s, according to the EPA. The site was used as a landfill for years even after Tennessee's Division of Solid Waste Management told Smokey Mountain Smelters the site was not suitable as an industrial landfill.

During the same period, Knox County's Air Pollution Control department cited the company for multiple air quality violations, while residents also filed complaints.

The operators ended up leaving "hazardous materials" above and below ground at the site before abandoning it, according to TDEC.

Waste left at the site includes materials that could release ammonia gas when wet, as well as a contaminated lagoon and old equipment.

In 2010, the EPA put the site on the Superfund's National Priorities List due to contaminated surface water, sediment and soil.

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"Superfund" was an act created by Congress in 1980 to regulate cleanups of contaminated sites that have popped up over the years as we learn more about environmental safety and implement stricter regulations.

The Superfund program:

For the Smokey Mountain Smelters site, the EPA has worked with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to clean up parts of the site as more specific plans were put in place and money became available.

Cleanup work has included removing materials, capping some waste with a temporary cap, repairing fencing and demolishing buildings.

Between TDEC and the EPA, multiple investigations and assessments have been conducted on the site since at least 1997, in addition to the incremental clean up.

From the EPA's assessments:

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President Joe Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will pay for the cleanup. Work is scheduled to start this month and to be finished by November.

The EPA says there will be increased traffic from heavy equipment in the area, but wants residents to know the contractors on site will keep noise pollution and dust to a minimum.

There are four phases to the cleanup plan:

Residents can attend the meeting in person at the South Knoxville Community Center or online by pre-registering for the Zoom link here: https://usepa.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItc-qhrzgiEuWwiSCdIew3silEl6FFdJ0

More information about the Smokey Mountain Smelters site and its history can be found here: https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.Stayup&id=0406753#Stayup

Anila Yoganathan is a Knox News investigative reporter. You can contact her at [email protected], and follow her on Twitter @AnilaYoganathan. Enjoy exclusive content and premium perks while supporting strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.