John Coffelt, Editor

The Old Stone Fort Bridge Preservation Group filed a petition for review with the Coffee County Chancery Court on Oct. 27 for a review of a final hearing that upheld a water alteration permit related to the bridge project at Old Stone Fort State Archeological State Park.

Funded in part by $36,000 in county tourism funds to cover the group’s legal fees, the suit challenged the issuance of an Aquatic Resource Alteration Permit (ARAP) by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. In August an Administrative Judge upheld the issuance of the permit.

The Bridge Group alleges that they proved it would have more than a minimal (de minimis) impact on the Duck River and further allege that TDEC failed to consider practicable alternatives in the issuance of the permit.

The suit further alleges that the Administrative Judge and the Board of Water Quality, Oil and Gas acted illegally, arbitrarily or capriciously and followed an illegal procedure, characterized by abuse of discretion.

The suit requests the reversal of the decision of the previous hearing and relief as the equities of this case as the court deems necessary.

The order entered by Administrative Judge Elisabeth Cambron in Aug. 21, then upheld by unanimous vote by the Board of Water Quality on Oct. 22, said that the Bridge Group failed to prove more the de minimis impact on the river and that the alternatives proposed by the groups’ paid engineers were not practicable alternatives.

Cambron writes, “it does not meet the project’s purpose because it is not possible to meet current

TDOT design standards by refurbishing the bridge. Second, it is not practical to expect a bridge that is over 100 years old to have a service life much further into the future, particularly given the

weight of modern vehicular traffic compared to the weight of vehicles at the time the bridge was

built.”

She also called the group’s environmental expert’s testimony offers “little more than conclusory generalizations and provides no support for OSFB Preservation Group’s assertion as to the temporary impacts. These temporary impacts are of a short duration and do not constitute degradation.”

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.