JANUARY 2026 NEWSLETTER
CHEERS TO CLEANER WATER IN 2026!
We cannot thank you enough for your support and passion for protecting our waterways. Tennessee Riverkeeper cannot do this work without you!
899 POUNDS OF TRASH REMOVED IN HUNTSVILLE!
HUNTSVILLE, AL — Tennessee Riverkeeper and Model Environment removed approximately 899 pounds of trash at Ditto Landing along the Tennessee River during a cold cleanup in December. 24 people attended and removed 37 bags of trash, 2 bags of recyclables, 4 tires, and other large debris.
In 2025, Tennessee Riverkeeper removed approximately 11,384 pounds of trash from waterways.
The most common trash items found were made from some form of plastic, the most common being polystyrene (“styrofoam”), polyethylene (plastic bottles and shopping bags), and polypropylene (straws).
“Plastic pollution is a local and global issue. Scientific studies have confirmed that microplastics and chemicals related to the plastic industry are found in humans and wildlife. These cleanups are a great short term solution, but we need bigger solutions that prevent this problem from getting worse,” according to David Whiteside, Executive Director of Tennessee Riverkeeper.
Update on PFAS Chemicals and 3M Company in North Alabama
One new blog article this month features an update on our legal work cleaning up PFAS pollution in the Tennessee Valley in North Alabama. The update is by Bill Matsikoudis, one of 11 attorneys defending your water for you and your family.
Complex remediation efforts can take a painfully long time, and our fight to rid the Tennessee River of dangerous PFAS in Decatur continues. The remediation of the 3M plant site on the Tennessee River, which is 900 acres and where 3M produced PFAS for decades, is particularly complicated due to complex geology. That’s why our settlement agreement with 3M required 3M to undertake an intensive investigation of how PFAS from its historic operations continues to escape to the Tennessee River by, among other things, sampling various media like soils, groundwater, River surface water and fish tissue, which in turn spawned more than 10,000 pages of data and interpretative reports dealing with PFAS that our experts have utilized to develop remedial strategies for 3M to implement.
Simultaneously with these investigations, our settlement agreement compelled 3M to undertake various interim remedial measures. Thus far, 3M has undertaken a variety of remedial actions, such as: operating sixteen (16) extraction wells to remove PFAS from groundwater; significantly upgrading an onsite wastewater treatment plant, which treats groundwater, with 400,000 pounds of granulated activated carbon, and ion exchange, ultrafiltration, and reverse osmosis systems; redirecting stormwater to the onsite treatment plant so that stormwater does not drag PFAS to the River. All of these efforts – and the various other measures 3M is taking as a consequence of our settlement - will substantially reduce the migration of legacy PFAS to the River.
But more work is needed, and at Tennessee Riverkeeper’s expert suggestion, 3M is moving forward with an “adaptive site management” remediation effort, whereby its clean-up will follow an iterative approach and be adapted over time based on monitoring data. 3M will need to continue the remediation with our experts’ oversight and input.
In short, our intensive work to rid the Tennessee River of PFAS in Decatur continues, and we will not stop until the simple goal of our litigation is reached: to allow residents to catch and safely consume fish in the Tennessee River without risk or worry. In that regard, our settlement agreement requires 3M to undertake six fish studies – one every three years - to check concentrations of PFAS in fish tissue so that we can continue to monitor the progress toward our goal.
Bill Matsikoudis Tennessee Riverkeeper Attorney
Mark Martin and David Whiteside from Tennessee Riverkeeper with a short New Years message from the Tennessee River in Decatur.
NEW POLLUTION CASE
Alexandria, TN: On January 23, 2026, Tennessee Riverkeeper notified Alexandria, Tennessee of its intent to file a Clean Water Act lawsuit against the town for violations of their permit, the CWA and applicable regulations. The town has exceeded its discharge limitations, mostly for nitrogen and phosphorous. The town’s sewage treatment plant discharges into Hickman Creek, which is a tributary of Caney Fork and the Cumberland River.
LEGAL DOCKET
9 active cases on our legal docket:
City of Springfield, TN: On November 10, 2025, Tennessee Riverkeeper mailed notice to the City of Springfield of its intent to file a Clean Water Act lawsuit against the city for overflows in violation of its permit. The city has had 39 overflow violation between August 21, 2021 and April 3, 2025 which released an estimated 28,410,865 gallows of raw sewage into Sulfur Fork Creek, Black Branch, Car Creek, Browns Fork, Wartrace Creek, and Beaver Dam Creek.
City of Spring Hill, TN: On September 11, 2025, Tennessee Riverkeeper brought suit against Spring Hill under the Clean Water Act for permit limitation exceedances. The suit is in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, case number: 1:25-cv-00074.
Town of Woodville, AL: On September 5, 2025, Tennessee Riverkeeper notified Woodville of its intent to file a lawsuit under the Clean Water Act for permit limitation exceedances. The state of Alabama responded with a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General against Woodville for the violations we alleged.
Maynardville, TN: Tennessee Riverkeeper’s lawsuit under the Clean Water Act against the City of Maynardville for pollution overflows in their sewage collection system has been settled. Maynardville will be required to take certain actions designed to improve operation of the treatment plant and to stop the overflows alleged in the Complaint. When completed, these actions should bring Maynardville into compliance with their Permit and the Clean Water Act. Case number: 3:25-cv-00208 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
Kingston Springs, TN: Tennessee Riverkeeper, Inc. filed a lawsuit under the Clean Water Act (CWA), against the Kingston Springs STP for violations of the CWA and the Tennessee Water Quality Control Act. The Kingston Springs Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) has had 1,099 days of Clean Water Act violations from July 2021 to April 2024, including overflows of raw sewage. The Harpeth River is a Tennessee treasure, highly used for boating, swimming and fishing. This section of the Harpeth has boat access and is a point of entry for the Blueway canoe and kayak trail. The suit was filed October 16, 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Tennessee, case number: 3:24-cv-01241.
Sky Nashville in Nashville, TN: Sky Nashville was intended to be a large residential development located on a steep hill overlooking the city from the west at the junction of I-40 and I-440, just north of Charlotte Avenue. After massive clearing and carving up the site, construction came to a halt, leaving steep eroding land. During rain events, extremely muddy water flowed from the site into the neighborhood below, regularly flooding Delaware Avenue adjacent to the east bound lanes of the interstate. The muddy water then flowed under I-40 into a park and greenway, and on to the Cumberland River. We filed a lawsuit on December 14, 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Tennessee, case number: 3:24-cv-01461. Since then, the site owner had put in several ponds, vegetation, and other controls to stabilize the dormant site. We filed a lawsuit on December 14, 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Tennessee, case number: 3:24-cv-01461.
Chapel Hill, TN: Tennessee Riverkeeper has settled its lawsuit against Chapel Hill. Once finalized, the settlement agreement will require the city to undertake certain tasks to improve conditions at its treatment works in order to improve the quality of its wastewater discharge. Case number: 1:24-cv-00050 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division.
Barnes Dump in Nashville, TN: Tennessee Riverkeeper filed a lawsuit against Robert Barnes d/b/a Barnes Fill Site. The suit alleges that Barnes is violating the CWA and RCRA due to operating a Construction and Demolition Landfill which discharges stormwater to tributaries nearby without first obtaining a NPDES permit for C&D Landfills. Barnes’ discharges enter Sulphur Creek, a tributary of the Cumberland River. The suit was filed February 1, 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Tennessee, case number 3:24-cv-00113. The case is currently set for trial in federal court in early March.
GOAL OF 50,000!
Thanks to you, we are growing faster than ever on almost every social media platform.
In a few short weeks since December 2025, Tennessee Riverkeeper has grown to become the 3rd largest Waterkeeper organization on social media overall out of approximately 300 worldwide.
You help represent approximately 48,900+ supporters across Tennessee Riverkeeper's social media channels. We have a goal of reaching 50,000 total by year's end. We are 1,100 away, you and your friends can help reach that goal!
Social media, the press, and this newsletter are very important methods for the organization to educate the public about water and the pollution that threatens our communities.
Please join us on these sites, share, and encourage your friends and family to join as well!
NEW VIDEOS + OUR ACTIVE YOUTUBE
Most folks have a YouTube account even though they don't upload videos. We are trying to grow our social media in many places. YouTube is a reliable platform that continues to grow in importance. Please subscribe to our channel!
A Short History of the TVA
Sandhill Cranes at Wheeler Wildlife Refuge
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