CHEATHAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A country music artist has joined the fight against a proposed methane plant in Cheatham County and he's asking President Trump's help.

The Tennessee Valley Authority said the project is necessary. The TVA purchased the 286-acre site back in 2020. After reviewing options — including solar — they said there was not enough space. The company has proposed building a methane gas plant and transmission lines in Cheatham County to meet growing energy needs.

"It's to not only replace the generation that is aging and needs to be taken out of service, but also to meet the growing demand over the next decade and even the next 25 years into 2050," TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said.

However, country music artist John Rich said that plan disregards the residents in the county, so he has called for President Donald Trump to step in.

"These are your people, President Trump," Rich said. "This county voted for you — 75%. These are your people; tell the TVA to find another spot."

Cheatham County Mayor Kerry McCarver echoed that statement for federal support.

"They [the TVA] don't answer to the county level. They don't answer to the state level," McCarver explained. "At the federal level, the congress should be putting some guidelines and bumper guards in there to control them ... They are not held accountable by anyone, and that is the root of the problem."

Rich said the proposed methane gas plant would bring more harm than good, raising concerns over increased traffic on two-lane county roads, overwhelming emergency services, and creating a loss in community voice.

"There are five schools within five miles of where this methane gas plant is going to go," Rich said. "...The chances of water contamination, destroyed farms, noise and air pollution — I would say 100% at some point."

McCarver told News 2 that hundreds of property owners would be affected by the plant's transmission lines and more that would be affected by natural gas lines. The TVA also filed lawsuits against two landowners who refused temporary access for land surveys, raising alarm among residents worried about their generational farms being taken away.

"All we've been doing so far is reaching out to property owners to say, 'Hey, there is a potential that we would want to purchase rights of way — not buy the property — not take the property outright, but rights of ways to be able to put power lines across the property,'" Brooks explained.

"Mister President — TVA has its foot on the throats of Cheatham County residents," a Chetham County resident known as Mr. Wade said when Rich asked him if he had any words for Trump. "You are our only hope because they are unbridled otherwise."

"The fix to this is simple: find an industrial place to put this or pick some of the 293,000 acres you people already own, TVA, and put it there," Rich said. "Instead of upending the ecosystem, running people off their farms."

The TVA wants property owners to know they are listening to the concerns of residents and are taking into account every opinion. McCarver told News 2 that he needs to see that sentiment in action.

"Actions speak louder than words," McCarver said. "Quit telling me you want to be a good neighbor. Do the right thing."

Since 2023, TVA has been holding public input sessions, and it's wrapping up its environmental impact study. McCarver told News 2 that the next community meeting with the TVA has been set for September 23 at Cheatham County Middle School. Residents can weigh in on the environmental impact study.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/john-rich-tva-methane-plant-cheatham-county/