ERWIN, Tenn. — CSX Transportation is being ordered to stop using river rock as fill material in the rebuild of its former Clinchfield Railroad line through the Nolichucky River gorge.
WJHL-TV reports the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation issued the notice to the railroad following an investigation that determined CSX was using cobble bars from the river that were below the river’s ordinary high-water mark. Investigators also say the railroad was drilling sections of cut rail into riverbed rock to stabilize its new right-of-way.
Officials ordered the railroad to immediately cease and desist with the removal of cobble bars and drilling into riverbed rock, saying the work is outside the scope of CSX’s permitting and violates the Water Quality Control Act of 1977.
CSX admitted to excavating rock at locations below the ordinary high water mark last month, according to the agency.
In addition to the order, the railroad must submit an aquatic alteration permit application and minimize any disturbances to the river’s substrate. Makeshift roads the railroad has built across the Nolichucky River will need to be removed completely to restore the river to preexisting conditions.
The notice is a win for recreation groups who have been critical of the railroad’s repairs, saying CSX’s actions jeopardize the river’s future navigability by whitewater rafters. Two whitewater groups filed suits to halt the work [see “Whitewater advocates sue federal government …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 19, 2024]. A federal judge denied the organizations’ request for a temporary restraining order that would have stopped repairs, saying the plaintiffs had not shown how they would suffer “immediate and irreparable harm” [see “Judge denies request …,” News Wire, Nov. 26, 2024].
CSX said in an earlier statement to Trains News Wire that it continues to work with federal and state agencies “to ensure the recovery and restoration is conducted in a safe and environmentally responsible way.” In a court filing, it noted that it is refraining from performing certain work below the high-water mark in North Carolina until an “emergency permit is provided.” It also noted the impacts of the line’s closure, which include furloughs or transfers for more than 30 workers and train reroutes that add an average of 400 miles to every affected shipment.
