Triana/Tennessee River

Overview

The Triana/Tennessee River Superfund site covers 11 miles of Huntsville Spring Branch and Indian Creek in Limestone and Morgan counties, northern Alabama. From 1947 to 1970, the Olin Corporation ran a pesticide plant at Redstone Arsenal and discharged wastewater into those waterways. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in September 1983 because of DDT and its breakdown products found in soil, sediment, surface water, and fish.

P,P'-DDT is the identified contaminant of concern, with contamination confirmed in sediment in Operable Unit 1. Olin Corporation completed physical cleanup actions in 1987 and 1988, including stream channel modifications and burial of contaminated material. The goal was to isolate at least 95 percent of the DDT in the most affected area. A fish monitoring program then tracked largemouth bass, channel catfish, and smallmouth buffalo against a performance standard of 5 parts per million DDT in fish fillets. All three species met that standard, with the last, smallmouth buffalo, reaching it in 2015. Once all species met the standard for three consecutive years across all reaches, annual fish sampling ended per the 1983 agreement.

The site sits entirely within Redstone Arsenal and Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, so access is highly restricted. Only the downstream portion of Reach C is open for fishing. The Alabama Department of Public Health issued a no-restriction advisory for all fish species in that area based on 2018 sampling. EPA's 2020 Five-Year Review confirmed the remedy continues to protect human health and the environment. Human exposure is currently under control. Construction of the remedial action was completed in December 1991, but the site has not yet achieved sitewide readiness for anticipated reuse, meaning cleanup goals for current and future land uses have not been fully met or required land-use controls are not fully in place. Long-term operation and maintenance activities are estimated to continue through late 2027 to early 2028. The most recent five-year review was completed on July 31, 2025. Two businesses currently operate on-site, and zoning restrictions prevent incompatible uses such as residential development.

Community members can stay involved through public notices and public meetings held by EPA. The Town of Triana Clerk's office at 640 6th Street in Madison, Alabama maintains a public information repository where site records can be reviewed. Ten documents related to the site are publicly available.