How do you push through a huge development with hidden problems? By ignoring multiple warnings from the planning commission that’s supposed to safeguard the public, relying instead on well-placed friends to keep the cash rolling in.
The Marion County Regional Planning Commission has nine members, five of whom are appointed by the commission’s chair, County Mayor David Jackson. A vocal booster of River Gorge Ranch (RGR), Jackson stood beside Gov. Bill Lee, developer John “Thunder” Thornton and Thunder Enterprises president Dane Bradshaw to break ground on the project April 6, 2022.
Jackson told the crowd of about 100 people that the planning commission had already approved plats on 300 of the development’s expected 2,500 lots.
“They’ve got the green light,” he said, as quoted that day in the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
This was six months before completion of a geophysical report that Thornton later touted in a Facebook post to reassure a private group of RGR property owners on March 16, 2024 — after the Scene reported that RGR sits above what locals call a “Swiss cheese” of abandoned coal mines.
An East Tennessee development is moving forward on what locals call a ‘Swiss cheese’ of abandoned coal mines
“I think it is important to note that the Marion County Planning Commission reviewed and approved all the geo engineering reports and testing reports that we provided,” Thornton wrote. Several commission members have said they saw the engineering report for the first time that day, nearly two years after the groundbreaking.
Besides the mayor, the planning commission includes Gene Hargis, a detective in the Marion County Sheriff’s Department reported to have done private security work for Thornton; Robert Kelly, a local banker; and Louise Powell, a local realtor. Billy Gouger, the county attorney, sits as one of three advisory staff members on the commission. In addition to his private law practice, Gouger runs a local title office. At many of the meetings, commissioners pushed for “conditional” and “incremental” approvals for improper plats.
Of course, in rural areas of Tennessee, government officials are frequently intertwined with local business. Still, the appearance of conflicts of interest in Marion County is not helped by persistent rumors from anonymous sources that Thornton offers his private jet to local “friends” for trips to the Super Bowl and expensive hunting resorts.
Documents Show Persistent Problems
In any case, planning commission documents demonstrate that River Gorge Ranch repeatedly flouted development rules regarding roads, septic systems and utilities — not to mention ignoring (and denying to the point of lawsuits) the dozens of old mines beneath homesites that could cause subsidence or poison well water or could clog future septic systems.
An advisory review of Phase 1 of RGR, dated Nov. 29, 2021, noted 15 lots with improper road frontage, 16 lots that exceeded the proper depth-to-width ratio, four that were too narrow, no sediment basins or streams shown as required by law, and numerous other violations in the depiction of streets and lots. The planning commission recommended 16 changes and that the developers change the name of the document from “Final Plat” to “Preliminary Plat,” writing, “Due to the large number of corrections needed, and the uncertainty about where the road will intersect with Highway 134, staff cannot recommend approval at this time.”
The “Preliminary Plat” and the “Final Plat” are different required documents: The first lays out proposed infrastructure for a development so that road construction and other improvements can begin, while the Final Plat focuses more on individual homesites. Tennessee law once required that no Final Plat could be submitted until the preliminary work was done, but the state eventually allowed developers to put up a bond or letter of credit so they could start selling lots before a Final Plat was approved.
In the “Final Plat,” dated Feb. 22, 2022, advisory staff found excessive grades on four roads, writing, “The final, engineered road design for mountain roads must be approved by the planning commission before road construction can commence.” Typed in bold was a line stating that no stamped engineering plans had been submitted. Some individual lots appeared that they might not be “suitable for building” because of drainage issues and lack of sufficient soil for septic fields. A series of letters between planning staff and various state agencies noted “unbuildable” areas due to streams and wetlands, as well as problems in locating private wells, which all lots were listed as needing. (The letter of credit for private wells was far cheaper than one for community water.)
On April 29, 2022, barely two weeks after the groundbreaking ceremony, Lot 1016 sold for $266,000. Other sales followed.
At the planning commission meeting on June 23, 2023, there were still many missing factors blocking approval of the Final Plat, including a Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation analysis of the number of bedrooms allowable on each lot according to the size of septic field. With much discussion, as documented in the meeting minutes, the commission voted for “conditional” approval of the final plat of Phase 1. By the summer of 2023, some suggested revisions still failed to meet county standards. The commission ultimately approved variances for each one.
As of April 27, 2024, the TDEC septic permit system lists only 31 permits issued for lots in RGR. Of those, all but six specified construction details requiring further inspection after the homes are built. Some lots were approved only for two-bedroom homes.
The western edge of River Gorge Ranch (lots outlined in red) sits above the Sewanee coal seam (in blue) and known mines (in yellow). The area outlined in black shows nearly all of the area studied for a 2022 geophysical report.
A Lesson From the Past
In 1987, Anthony “Tony” Wheeler, a chemist and biochemist, bought a home on Signal Mountain in Hamilton County “as is,” in full knowledge that the old mines there had “played out” long ago. “My sons found a large airshaft within weeks of moving into our new home,” he wrote in a 2020 statement for TDEC. After the county refused to blast the shaft closed for fear it might cause other collapses within the interconnected mines, Wheeler began a complex odyssey of land remediation that continues today.
He’s given public talks and a recent radio interview on construction and coal mines, and he has followed RGR news. “Developers are buying up every piece of land they can get their hands on, irrespective of the quality,” he says. “What’s happening on Signal Mountain is basically the past version of what Aetna’s going to turn into.”
Wheeler describes acid mine drainage that requires keeping children away from all creeks and ponds. “It’s been an educational process over the last 30 years to get people to understand the hazard and what to do to avoid it.”
He notes that most RGR lots include mine “spoils” or disturbed soils. “According to TDEC, you’re not supposed to put sewage systems in disturbed soils. Going with septic systems really doesn’t solve the problem of the stability of the area related to the other disturbances.”
Another thing Wheeler finds disturbing: “They claim 120 feet of sandstone. That varies from place to place all over the mountain.”
This observation seems to be borne out by historical data showing an average depth of the Sewanee coal seam below Aetna of about 80 feet. Some mine entrances drawn on the OSM topo map (and in the geo study from Thornton’s company Thunder Air) appear 80 feet or less below the surface. Entire RGR lots, including some already purchased, sit above known mines.
More details on an East Tennessee development moving forward on Mt. Aetna
Not a Drop to Drink
“When I bought my property here in 1987 and tried to get water, the local water authority didn’t want to pipe water to me,” Wheeler says. “So I hired a crew, and we dug a 175-foot well. I’m below the coal seam, and my well brought up water that was so laden with iron that we couldn’t get it to the point where we could drink it. [Thornton] is going to have the same problem.”
Because of this, and perhaps the well placement problems noted by the planning commission, Thornton has been telling residents that municipal water is on the way. All that’s lacking is a proposed 1 million-gallon water tank, to be placed on land Thornton may not yet own, supplied by a complex piping system that will cross land he may not yet own, bringing water from some source yet to be determined. The city of Jasper might provide water, according to one source familiar with local government, but waterworks manager Jason Turner, who sits on the water board and is also the mayor of Jasper, did not return calls requesting comment.
It’s a fluid situation.
Tennessee American Water, the planned water utility for RGR, said in a company statement: “Water infrastructure being developed by a property owner proceeds largely at the pace of that owner and is highly variable. Any water infrastructure developed by any property owner is subject to engineering review, inspection, and approval by Tennessee American Water. Once approved, the water infrastructure assets are transferred.”
In plain language, no one will drink RGR public water soon. Meanwhile, at its March 2024 meeting, the planning commission approved a variance to yet another RGR lot.
There are still no homes on the mountain.
