ADEM public hearing draws concern over Tyson Foods wastewater permit

Residents, environmental advocates and local officials turned out for an Alabama Department of Environmental Management public hearing to weigh a proposed wastewater discharge permit for Tyson Foods’ poultry processing facility in Blountsville.

The hearing, requested during ADEM’s public comment period, comes as the agency considers reissuing the plant’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit governing wastewater and stormwater discharges into Graves Creek, which flows into the Locust Fork River.

In comments submitted to ADEM, Tyson requested that its discharge flow be increased from 870,000 gallons per day to 1.2 million gallons per day to reflect operational changes and higher production levels.

While several speakers criticized the draft permit as too lenient, Blount County Commission Chairman Brad Harvey said that the county’s concerns are not anti-industry, but prioritizing a more tourism-focused local economy.

“We would just like to do everything we can to protect it while remaining business-friendly. It’s a tight road. We know it is. It’s a hard thing to do, but we would like to really focus on our tourism too,” Harvey said.

Harvey pointed to Graves Creek, Mardis Mill Falls and King’s Bend, where kayaking and canoe races are scheduled in the coming weeks, as examples of how the Locust Fork corridor has become a growing recreational destination. On warm days, he said, swimmers already fill the creek.

“I was just there today. There were three groups of swimmers in Graves Creek. At the height of the summer, you’ll have 50 people there on any given day or more,” Harvey said.

Several residents cited visitation data showing more than 12,000 visits to the Mardis Mill area between May and September of last year, noting that recreation is no longer limited to a narrow summer window. Speakers argued that water quality classifications and discharge limits should reflect year-round swimming and whole-body contact recreation.

April Benefield, president of the Friends of the Locust Fork River, framed the debate as one that extends beyond current residents and generations.

“We’ve got folks that haven’t even been born yet, that we want to have clean water. To be able to go to Mardis Mill and fall off that phone, which is dangerous, but we want them to do it,” Benefield said.

Cindy Lowry, executive director of the Alabama Rivers Alliance, said the Locust Fork has become one of Alabama’s standout outdoor destinations, drawing visitors from across the Southeast. Failing to protect water quality, she argued, could undermine an expanding tourism sector just as it gains momentum.

“Kudos to the local community for embracing the river as an ecotourism asset,” Lowry said. “This is dollars to the local economy, and it will only increase as more people find out about it.”

Lowry warned that economic growth tied to recreation depends on clean water, and permit limits must reflect how the waterway is actually used.

“We’re asking ADEM to require treatment and pollution limits that reflect the important situation of this river to the community and local economy,” Lowry said. “Not just what it was historically classified for, but what it’s being used for today. Swimming and other whole-body contact recreation.”

ADEM noted that written submissions would also be considered before a final decision on the permit.