The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff Reports

Posted: Monday, January 01, 2018 12:29 PM

Claiborne County Farmers Concerned About Chemicals Being Sprayed On Tobacco Crops

Chemical spraying by Powell Valley Electric to reduce overgrown vegetation by power lines is causing concern in Claiborne County after a local farmer said it's killing his tobacco crops.

Daniel's Farms runs 200 acres of tobacco in Claiborne County. Owner Melvin Daniels said chemical spraying by power lines more than 20 feet away has drifted over to his property, completely contaminating his crops.

Daniels said 70 acres of tobacco, worth more than $400,000, is now destroyed by the chemicals. He said the spraying by power lines has never been a problem before, but the problem he faces now could put an end to business.

"With this lick here, this is likely going to put us out," Daniels said. "Every dollar we have, it's all riding on our tobacco crop."

Powell Valley Electric said they hired a third party to spray the lines, and they said the spray helps reduce vegetation for easier maintenance and preventing power outages. The sprays will happen every few years. However, Powell Valley said they previously used manual labor to hack overgrown trees.


The third party, US Applicators, is operated out of Mississippi and said they hold all necessary licenses and are EPA approved. The company said they spray lines with a diluted chemical through a backpack sprayer and don't believe it got into the tobacco field.

US Applicators said this is the first time they have worked with Powell Valley Electric, but they have worked with other electric companies in the region.

The company is waiting for results from an independent test of the crops. Meanwhile, Melvin Daniels had testing done on the crops by the University of Tennessee. He said the results found chemicals in the plant.