Roane County: Beginning the New Year ‘A Whole Lot Greener’
Tuesday December 27, 2011
First it was just an idea - ‘let's make Roane County a sustainable community' - but then it caught fire.
After nearly a half a million dollars in grant money and a rapidly-spreading grassroots movement, Roane County is starting the year 2012 "a whole lot greener" than ever before, Leslie Henderson, President/CEO of The Roane Alliance, said in talking about this year's grassroots ‘Green' movement in Roane County:
"It started from a recommendation in a long-term county economic strategy two years ago - ‘Rebrand Roane County as a Sustainable Community to counteract the negative image of the TVA ash spill'. Then it quickly morphed into the creation of a countywide ‘Green Team' with the help of the Roane Chamber, which called for a green roundtable with representation from public and private players from throughout Roane County."
"The next thing we knew," Henderson said, "the idea had caught fire. I would like very much for us to take credit for what all has been accomplished since the Green Team was formed a year and a half ago, but the truth is all we have done is act as a facilitator and a conduit for information - information not only about grants but also about some innovative, cost-effective programs from other communities like our own. It was really an idea whose time had come."
Here's just some of what the county has found and/or accomplished in its efforts to become more sustainable since early 2010, with more being planned:
- Solar-powered trash compactors are being used at the county's recycling centers;
- Used oil is being utilized to heat not only the recycle center, but also the county animal shelter and the county highway department offices;
- The county has increased its landfill diversion rate some 40% over recent years;
- Several private-sector businesses, such as Wal-Mart in Rockwood, have embraced the concept of energy-efficiency by adopting such practices as motion lights in offices; sky lights over the sales floors; automatically-adjusting fluorescent lighting; and recycling of cardboard, plastic, aluminum and motor oil;
- All three of the cities of Kingston, Harriman and Rockwood applied for and were granted $100,000 in energy-efficiency, stimulus-funded grants resulting in projects such as the replacement of hundreds of non-efficient lighting fixtures; the purchase and installation of more than 15 energy-efficient HVAC units; a new enzyme system implemented at Kingston's sewer plant - saving $20,000 annually; and the installation of energy-saving pumps and motors at pumping stations - with energy-savings of up to 75% and more being reported from those improvements;
- Roane County hosted a regional TREEDC (Tennessee Renewable Energy Economic Development Council) at Roane State in the fall of 2010, sharing and comparing green initiatives from across the state with the 80 attendees;
- The Roane County Lodging Association adopted a county-wide ‘Green Hospitality Program', in which members agree to use: energy-efficiency bulbs; recycled office supplies; water-saving equipment; Energy Star compliant equipment and a card system to save laundering water;
- Roane County was just awarded yet another $100,000 in the third round of state energy efficiency grants;
- The Roane County School System has planned for a green future by building one of the most energy efficient state-of-the-art elementary schools in the area The multi-million-dollar investment will be at the forefront of energy efficiency and technology, according to district officials, that will include solar water heaters and "a geothermal heat system that will save us a lot of money on energy," according to Dr. Toni McGriff, the director of Roane County Schools.
- Roane State Community College continues to be a leader in sustainable education with its many programs offered, while also providing campus-wide recycling to its students and faculty;
- The City of Harriman has another $1 million dollars worth of ‘green' improvements on its books - which is expected to be funded through grants - including conversion of all of its downtown traffic lights to LED fixtures; conversion to LED lighting at crosswalks and trails; and LED street lights in the Cornstalk Heights Historic District.
What's next? According to Henderson, the Alliance will be researching LEED certification incentives, annual ‘green' business awards, a county-wide clean-up day, and a county-wide recycling effort.
Anyone who would like to volunteer to help with the efforts of the Roane Green Team, please call The Roane Alliance at 865-376-2093.
The Roane Chamber is one of the partners of The Roane Alliance, which is Roane County's economic development organization and also includes the Roane County Industrial Development Board and the Roane County Visitors Bureau.
