Resident tells McMinn County commissioners TDEC found landfill contamination; asks for county help

At the Jan. 19 McMinn County Commission meeting, resident Eric Bunch used the public-comment period to report that Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) testing found contamination from an unpermitted landfill on his County Road 130 property and that, following an on-site inspection, he and his family were advised to leave the property.

According to Bunch’s account in the minutes, a judge required an expert to inspect the property and TDEC conducted on-site testing Dec. 15, 2025. Bunch said the TDEC results “did show his land was contaminated from landfill leachate and advised him and his family to leave the property.” He asked the county for help and gave a brief account of what he was told.

County Mayor John Gentry asked who told Bunch to leave, and Commissioner Travis Crisp asked whether the property had been condemned; Bunch responded that TDEC had advised him to leave and that additional water testing was scheduled after 90 days. The minutes record no TDEC representative at the meeting and do not include documentation or official county action in response to the claim.

The minutes record the claim as an appeal for assistance; the commission did not take formal action during the meeting on the matter. The county’s next steps are not recorded in the minutes. For verification or enforcement actions, the minutes indicate the matter remains subject to follow-up with TDEC or county staff.