{"id":531089,"date":"2026-03-18T16:00:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T16:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/531089\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T16:00:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T16:00:15","slug":"chattanooga-approves-250k-plan-to-haul-contaminated-soil-from-alton-park-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/531089\/","title":{"rendered":"Chattanooga approves $250K plan to haul contaminated soil from Alton Park project"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn \u2014 Contaminated soil tied to a major Chattanooga redevelopment project could soon be hauled away under a new contract up for a vote Tuesday.<\/p>\n

City leaders approved a plan to pay up to $250,000 to dispose of contaminated soil connected to the Alton Park Connector project<\/a>, a key piece of ongoing cleanup and redevelopment efforts in South Chattanooga.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/p>\n

The proposal would authorize the city\u2019s Department of Public Works to enter into an agreement with Republic Services, a waste management company, to handle the disposal.<\/p>\n

Documents show the material is classified as non-hazardous waste, with soil set to be transported to a landfill facility in McDonald, Tennessee.<\/p>\n

Jasmin Jeffries, the Remedial Project Manager for South Chattanooga, says…<\/p>\n

\u201cWe weren’t aware that there was some lead in the that byproduct material, and so it was acceptable for the boundaries to bring that material to residential homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

This latest step adds to a growing list of developments tied to the Alton Park Connector, a long-discussed project<\/a> aimed at improving access and addressing environmental concerns in the area.<\/p>\n

As we previously reported, the project has faced a series of challenges, including the loss of a $20 million federal grant<\/a> that city leaders said could jeopardize its future. Despite that setback, local officials and nonprofit partners have continued pushing forward with early phases of construction and cleanup.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/p>\n

The issue of contamination has also drawn increased attention in recent months<\/a>, as concerns about lead and other pollutants have expanded beyond homes to include parks, schools, and churches in parts of Chattanooga.<\/p>\n

We were once one of the dirtiest cities in the country, right? And we still have remnants of that that,” Councilman Ron Elliott said.<\/p>\n

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation wrote in a letter to city officials that they had determined that soil containing arsenic, lead, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) around Alton Park can be managed as \u201cspecial waste\u201d and transported to the Bradley County Landfill.<\/p>\n

TDEC has approved the disposal of up to 5,000 tons of contaminated soil from the Alton Park Greenway Extension.<\/p>\n

The proposal suggests soil removal will play a key role in preparing the land for future development tied to the South Broad District and surrounding infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re going to make sure that ourselves and our contractors are following all regulations,” Elliot says.<\/p>\n

Councilman Ron Elliott says the city has been doing this for years and that it\u2019s part of the effort to make the city cleaner.<\/p>\n

“This is just another part of it, of us cleaning up some of the sins of the past make sure that we’re stronger, healthier city going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

TDEC’s approval of soil removal comes with strict conditions. The soil must be solid, contain no free liquids, and be transported without releasing contaminants into the environment. <\/p>\n

The Bradley County landfill is required to track the volume and dates of all waste received, while both the project team and landfill must maintain documentation for regulatory review.<\/p>\n

TDEC says disposal must be completed by July 1st, 2028. Officials also noted that any change in the composition of the waste would require immediate re-evaluation and a new application.<\/p>\n

City Council members passed the proposed agreement during Tuesday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n

Read the full proposed contract below:<\/p>\n

Depend on us to keep you posted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHATTANOOGA, Tenn \u2014 Contaminated soil tied to a major Chattanooga redevelopment project could soon be hauled away under…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531090,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-531089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}