Newport Springs Bottling is seeking authority to withdraw up to 75 gallons a minute from a tributary to Cosby Creek. The state calls the affected waters exceptional and preliminarily says the impact would be minimal. What the company actually withdraws is not yet public in the records TRP has reviewed.
By Brandon Burley | The Redemption Project
NEWPORT, Tenn. — Tennessee environmental regulators are considering renewing a permit allowing a commercial bottling company to withdraw water from a tributary of Cosby Creek in Cocke County at a maximum rate of 75 gallons per minute.
The permit itself is not new.
That distinction matters.
Newport Springs Bottling LLC is seeking reissuance of an existing state permit, not permission for a newly announced withdrawal. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation posted the proposal for public comment Sept. 15.
But the state’s notice also contains a detail that makes the renewal worth closer examination.
TDEC classifies the affected waters as Exceptional Tennessee Waters. The agency says the stream is part of a naturally reproducing trout system whose headwaters originate in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
TDEC has preliminarily determined that renewing the withdrawal would cause only de minimis, or minimal, degradation.
The public now has an opportunity to test that conclusion.
The permit sets a ceiling. It does not tell us actual use.
The draft action would authorize withdrawals from an unnamed tributary to Cosby Creek at no more than 75 gallons per minute for bottling.
That figure should not be confused with the company’s actual withdrawal.
The public notice does not state how much water Newport Springs Bottling withdrew last year, during drought conditions or over the life of its existing permit.
That is one of the records TRP has requested.
TDEC told The Redemption Project on Sept. 16 that, because our request included a substantial number of records and questions, the department wants the records portion submitted through Tennessee’s formal public-records process.
The department has not yet provided substantive answers to TRP’s questions about historical withdrawals, minimum-flow protections, drought restrictions, environmental monitoring or compliance history.
The exact intake is legally confidential
TDEC identifies the source only as an unnamed tributary to Cosby Creek near Cosby.
The state says Tennessee law makes the precise intake location confidential and that it will not disclose the exact intake site in the permit or otherwise make it publicly available.
That restriction does not eliminate public participation.
TDEC says the application, supporting documentation, draft permit and agency rationale are available through its Water Resources permit system. Written comments are accepted for 30 days after distribution of the approved public-notice materials.
People who participate in that comment process can also preserve issues for a later permit appeal. A public hearing may be requested if sufficient interest exists around water-quality concerns.
The company has also received state economic-development assistance
Newport Springs Bottling was recruited to Cocke County in 2021.
Tennessee’s FastTrack database lists the project at $11.8 million in planned capital investment, 34 planned new jobs and a $68,000 FastTrack award.
The current state database separately lists 27 “incentivized jobs,” which TNECD defines as the jobs tied specifically to the FastTrack grant, and 34 total new jobs planned for the project.
Those are contractual or projected figures — not proof that all investment or employment commitments were ultimately achieved.
TRP has asked state officials for the project’s performance information and whether the full grant was disbursed.
No substantive response had been received by Thursday morning.
The permit decision should turn on the water record
The existence of a government incentive does not prove a water problem.
Neither does commercial bottling.
The relevant questions are measurable.
How much water is actually being removed? How does that compare with streamflow during ordinary and drought conditions? What minimum flows must remain in the tributary? Has monitoring detected ecological effects? Has the company complied with the existing permit?
TDEC’s preliminary answer is that the renewed withdrawal would produce minimal degradation.
That may prove correct.
But because the water body receives heightened state protection and the permit authorizes commercial removal of a public natural resource, the underlying measurements matter more than the maximum number printed on the permit.
Those are the records TRP is now seeking.
Behind the Reporting
The 75-gallon-per-minute figure is an authorized maximum, not an assertion that Newport Springs Bottling continuously withdraws that amount.
TRP has not yet established the company’s actual annual withdrawal, drought-period withdrawal or historical compliance record.
TDEC’s description of the expected impact as “de minimis” is the agency’s preliminary regulatory determination.
TRP requested comment from TDEC, state economic-development officials and the company. TDEC responded procedurally and requested a formal records filing. No substantive company or state economic-development response had been received as of the reporting cutoff.
Status: HOLD FOR COMMENT / RECORDS before final publication.
Reporting cutoff: Sept. 17, 2026.
Source Library
TDEC — Public Notice NRS26.140, Sept. 15, 2026. Primary permit notice establishing the proposed withdrawal rate, purpose, protected-water classification, confidentiality provision and preliminary degradation finding.
Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development — FastTrack Project Database. Primary state record for the 2021 recruitment project, planned investment, job figures and FastTrack award.
Jennifer Donnals, TDEC — response to The Redemption Project, Sept. 16, 2026. TDEC acknowledged TRP’s inquiry and directed the comprehensive records portion to the state’s formal public-records process.
I am a retired detective and criminal justice / government educator based in Tennessee. I founded The Redemption Project, as a place to focus on civics, rebuild non-partisan trust, and provide educational and emotional grace while learning about the news. I also have a column in Knox TN Today. My reporting and commentary have also appeared in other outlets including; Governing, The Arizona Capitol Times, South Florida Sun Sentinel, Police1, among other state and regional outlets.
