Tenn. sewage tank bursts; two workers dead

GATLINBURG, Tennessee - The bodies of two sewage treatment plant workers have been recovered at the site where a plant wall collapsed in Gatlinburg.

The holding tank wall at the plant in a Smoky Mountains tourist town collapsed early Tuesday and crews searched throughout the day before finding the two bodies under rubble at the plant near the Little Pigeon River.

Gatlinburg's fire chief identified the victims as 53-year-old John Eslinger and 44-year-old Don Storey, both of the Sevierville area.

Gatlinburg's utilities director said the plant should be repaired soon but he could not say when.

A Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation spokeswoman said that for now, wastewater is being discharged directly into the river.

The spill into the west prong of the Little Pigeon River is a mix of storm and sewage water without solid waste, said Tisha Calabrese-Benton, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

She said the failure occurred in an equalization basin, a large tank that is used during times of heavy rain to regulate the amount of water going into the treatment plant.

The size of the spill had not been determined but officials with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency estimated it was between 1.5 and 3.2 million gallons

The Mountain Press newspaper reported that the basin is 70 feet wide, 40 feet tall and has reinforced concrete walls that are 12 inches thick. Photos show a blown-out section of the structure.

Calabrese-Benton said the spill is not close to the intake of drinking water for downstream communities and Gatlinburg gets its water upstream from the spill.