JOHN COFFELTEditor

The City of Manchester has agreed to hire a specialized attorney to assist in negotiating with the state moving forward on Tennessee’s moratorium regarding certain new sewer taps above chronic manholes.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved hiring Bart J. Kempf, who specializes in environmental cases, of the Nashville based Bradley law firm during its regular meeting June 6.

City Attorney Craig Johnson told said the city hopes to enter into the final phase, “where we can complete all our (sewer) rehab and satisfy all their requirements and show them we’ve completed everything in the original consent decree back in 2014 as promised.”

In 2014, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) issued an agreement order due to the number of chronic overflows at various manholes around town. The order prevents new sewer connections to lines above any of the manholes.

“This would hopefully be the last one, the final phase, and we’re negotiating the parameters of it,” Johnson said, estimating the moratorium to last a relatively short time.

Mayor Marilyn Howard said during the meeting that the city intends to proceed in an organized direction and Kempf’s consultation will help them navigate that process.

“We’re getting ready to look at our consent orders, and we don’t know what this is going to look like,” Howard said. “He has been in consent orders and worked with environmental (issues).”

The board approved hiring Kempf as a temporary legal consultant, with Alderman Julie Anderson voting no.

Rehab underway

Manchester Water and Sewer is currently analyzing data collected during a recent flow study performed by Dukes Contractors that measured the amount of infiltration and inflow into the system.

Manchester Water Department Director Phillip Miller said a large infiltration and inflow issue that amounted to an estimated 70,000 gallons per day was recently found and repaired on Remington Place, just off of Oakdale Street.

Miller estimated that the system as a whole has about 3 million gallons of I&I from a large rain.

Miller said that the department is creating a detailed map of the lines and designating the hot spots for I&I. At the street level, workers are smoke testing manholes to find leaks and a video rover unit will aid in seeing inside the lines.

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.