Tennessee – The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has announced the successful completion of the state’s first brownfield remediation project funded through the Brownfield Redevelopment Area Grant (BRAG) program.
TDEC Commissioner David Salyers, along with local leaders and members of the community, marked the milestone during a ceremony held at the project site in Morristown.
The $500,000 BRAG grant, awarded last year to the Morristown Industrial Development Board, supported the cleanup of hazardous contaminants at the former Plumley Rubber Company site. The once-vacant property, which had sat unused for nearly a decade, has now been revitalized and repurposed as a warehousing and third-party logistics space for R&S Logistics.
Lease payments from the newly developed site will benefit the Third Judicial District Recovery Court of Hamblen County, connecting environmental renewal to community well-being.
TDEC’s Division of Remediation led the project in collaboration with Knoxville-based engineering firm Cannon & Cannon, Inc. and contractor MTN-INC, with efforts focused on mitigating harmful vapors and ensuring the site met modern environmental standards.
The BRAG program was created under Gov. Bill Lee’s Rural Brownfield Redevelopment Investment Act, which aims to promote environmental protection and economic growth in rural Tennessee. The initiative provides funding and technical support to local governments and development boards for the investigation, cleanup, and reuse of blighted or contaminated properties.
“What happens in rural Tennessee matters to all Tennesseans, and I’m proud to announce the completion of our first brownfield redevelopment project,” said Governor Lee. “The process of cleaning up a contaminated property and turning it into an asset is an important step in environmental stewardship, and this project will have a positive impact on Hamblen County for years to come.”
With this successful redevelopment, TDEC hopes the BRAG program will serve as a model for similar projects across the state, transforming overlooked or hazardous sites into productive, economically beneficial spaces for communities in need.