📣 Speak Up for the Nolichucky: Demand a Real Restoration Plan from CSX
- Nolichucky Outdoor Recreation Association
- Jul 24
- 4 min read
The Nolichucky Gorge—one of East Tennessee’s most iconic wild places—is still waiting for meaningful restoration after being heavily impacted by CSX Transportation’s emergency railroad construction activities in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Despite promises to repair the damage, CSX’s latest proposal—currently under review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Public Notice No. 25-28)—offers no real plan to restore the riverbank, cobble bars, or in-stream habitat that were degraded or destroyed. Instead, CSX is now proposing to "let the river heal itself" by relying on natural sediment transport, even though their own data shows that recovery is highly unlikely without intervention.
We need your voice now. Public comments are open, and this is the public’s chance to hold CSX accountable and demand a real, science-based restoration plan.
🚧 What’s at Stake?
In late 2023 and early 2024, CSX conducted extensive construction in the Nolichucky Gorge, which included grading riverbanks, excavating below the Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM), and building temporary rock crossings for machines to cross the river. These activities took place on federally managed lands held in the public trust, including lands where CSX had no legal access. The Army Corps of Engineers confirmed that CSX work was in violation and exceeded their permissions on these public lands. USACE issued a corrective measures directive on November 20, 2024.
In that letter, the Corps made the following directive:
CSX must, "Reconstruct the river bank using locally sourced, appropriate materials (native soil, rock, vegetation) that are not obtained from below the OHWM of the Nolichucky River or other waters of the U.S."
Additionally, the Corps required:
Removal of all temporary in-stream structures, such as machine crossings
Restoration of all areas impacted by unauthorized construction, including cobble bars and side channels
Preparation of a revised restoration design by a qualified hydrologic professional
🛑 What Does CSX’s New Plan Propose?
Instead of meeting these directives, CSX’s revised plan—released in July 2025—suggests that the river will naturally restore itself over time. Specifically, the plan claims:
“The best course of action for these areas below ordinary high-water was to let the river naturally restore itself through sediment redistribution.”
This claim is not only scientifically weak—CSX’s own hydraulic modeling shows that sediment movement is minimal under typical high-water events—but it is in direct contradiction to what the Corps and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) have required.
The Revised plan includes:
No reconstruction of damaged cobble bars
No restoration of excavated banks below the OHWM
No removal of the temporary rock crossings
No hydrologic design by a certified professional
No coordination plan with the U.S. Forest Service for restoration above the OHWM
🌲 Public Lands, Public Trust
The riverbanks and riverbed within the Nolichucky Gorge are public lands—managed on behalf of the American people. These areas support fish and wildlife habitat, provide clean water, offer world-class whitewater paddling, and carry deep ecological and cultural value.
To allow CSX to walk away from its obligation without restoring these lands would be a violation of the public trust.
CSX was formally found to be in violation of federal permitting rules and removed from the project site in spring 2024. The cleanup and restoration of these lands is not optional. It is a matter of legal compliance, environmental justice, and public stewardship.
📩 How to Submit a Public Comment
You can speak up and help hold CSX accountable. Here's how:
Submit your public comment to:Casey H. Ehorn
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District
📌 Subject line: Public Comment on CSXT Stateline Bridge Restoration Plan (Public Notice No. 25-28)
What to include in your comment:
Your concern about the failure to restore impacted areas
A request that the Corps enforce its November 2024 directive
Your demand for active restoration, not passive monitoring
Your personal stake—whether ecological, recreational, or as a concerned resident
A request for inter-agency transparency (including the U.S. Forest Service’s role above the OHWM)
📌 Important: Be sure to customize your comment. Identical comments may be filtered or counted as a single submission.
✅ What NORA Is Asking For
NORA’s position remains clear. We are calling on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reject the current plan and require CSX to:
Actively restore cobble bars and riverbanks using native materials sourced from outside the OHWM
Remediate all disturbed areas below the OHWM, including those not legally permitted
Remove all temporary in-stream structures, such as machine crossings
Protect all existing trees unless removal is ecologically necessary and approved
Submit a restoration design prepared by a licensed hydrologist or fluvial geomorphologist
Clarify and coordinate plans for restoration above the OHWM with the U.S. Forest Service
🗣 Your Voice Matters
We urge all river advocates, paddlers, anglers, scientists, and concerned citizens to submit a comment today. Let’s make sure that this remarkable river system is restored not only in name, but in reality—with care, science, and accountability.
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