ROBERTA NEE ADAMSStaff Writer

Most of December’s Metro Moore County Council meeting centered around the Silicon Ranch Solar Farm. Tony Grow, of Grow Environmental Services, has been hired by Moore County to oversee the project and protect the interests of Moore County. He has worked closely with Silicon Ranch and the contractors hired to complete the project, who he reports to be very responsive to his input. Grow gave an update on the status of the project.

The entire property has been cleared, and most of it graded. Approximately 80% of it has been seeded and has grass growing now. The biggest challenge has been a result of rain and runoff. Hurricane Creek is adjacent to the property and is designated by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) as an Exceptional Tennessee Waterway as it empties into Tims Ford Lake.

With as little as an half-inch of rainfall the creek water has to be tested for sediment and silt. If any his found, it must be cleaned out. Sedimentation basins have been put in to catch storm water runoff. They hold the water, giving the silt and sediment time to settle. Prior to them being completed there were two instances of sediment reaching the headwaters of the creek, which was immediately cleaned out. None of the sediment has reached Tims Ford Lake.

There has been no damage to the aquatic life in the creeks. There has been some runoff of clay, which stays suspended in water much longer, and can give a milky appearance to the water. This causes no harm to the aquatic life or the water. The water quality is consistently within state regulations. Project manager Bryan Runion, with Silicon Ranch, reported that they were stabilizing the creek banks with matting to prevent degrading of the banks.

The other problem rain causes is muddy roadways. Though LDL Solar, the main contractor, has put down rock on the egress driveways, a lot of it has sunken into the ground, so that trucks leaving the site still have a lot of mud on the tires. As the mud has a lot of clay, it is very slick when wet. Efforts have been made to mitigate this with sweepers following the trucks out onto the roadways, and water trucks following the sweepers.

Chief Deputy Shane Taylor reported that there have been three auto accidents on Cumberland Springs Road in the past month, and that the slick road could have been a contributing factor to those accidents. The mitigation efforts have not been as successful as hoped, so LDL is taking further steps. Rob Riley told the board that LDL has ordered 175 tons of rock for each construction entrance, as well as rumble strips. This will give the trucks twice the distance to clear their tires before entering the roadways. The company has also ordered three sweepers with vacuums, which should work better to clear any mud tracked out of the site.

Moore County Highway Department Superintendent Shannon Cauble stressed the need to double the length of the rock driveways to better clear the mud off of the truck tires before entering roadways. Cauble also brought up that a tile has been damaged and needed repair. As the damage was not yet critical, she advised that it could be filled in at this point rather than being replaced.

Dexter Golden said that he had received complaints about the sweepers using private driveways to turn around. He was assured that the sweepers would discontinue the practice. Golden also asked that a representative from LDL Solar be included in the updates to the council. It was also suggested that the updates be given more frequently, if not monthly, then every two months if possible. Runion agreed to more frequent updates. Another concern Golden expressed was that no local contractors had yet been hired, as the council had been told they would. He was assured that there will be local hires in the future.

Rain or no rain, Tony Grow tests the creek waters at least twice a week. He also inspects the whole property at least once a week, both from a four wheeler and also by drone. LDL Solar also does water testing twice a week, more often if there is rain.

Tony Grow, Bryan Runion, and Rob Riley met all of the council’s questions and issues with explanations and solutions they are actively taking to resolve any issue. Grow reiterated that Silicon Ranch and LDL Solar are responsive, cooperative, and responsible in their dealings. Between TDEC, Tony Grow, and Silicon Ranch’s own oversight, the project is very closely monitored and held to strict standards. The council was satisfied that they were heard and all issues were addressed.