Sullivan, TN

Moderate Risk (47/100)

A PlainEnviro-computed score from reported facility/violation counts, not an official EPA rating, health forecast, or population-adjusted rate. See methodology. This is a different measure than the EJ Screening score for this county, which ranks it by percentile against every other tracked county rather than against fixed national thresholds.

Environmental data for Sullivan in Tennessee · Population: 159,693

Sullivan, TN is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 16 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, 8 Safe Drinking Water Act systems, and 0 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Together these generate an environmental burden score of 47/100 (Moderate Risk), calibrated against national distributions for facility density, chemical release volume, Superfund concentration, and water-system health violations.

Industrial disclosures inside the county total 19.9M lbs of reported toxic releases under EPCRA Section 313, while 2 water systems carry an active health-based violation in the SDWIS record. EPA Air Quality System monitors logged a median AQI of 41 and a peak AQI of 97 in 2024, with 79% of observed days rated "Good" (0–50).

All figures below draw directly from federal EPA records, TRI self-reported emissions, SDWIS compliance history, NPL Hazard Ranking System scores, and AQS daily AQI summaries, and are not adjusted, weighted, or forecast. A past violation or elevated score does not itself indicate current unsafe conditions; it documents the regulatory and disclosure history publicly filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the most recent reporting cycle.

Population
159,693
TRI Facilities
16
Water Systems
8
Superfund Sites
0
Total Releases
19.9M lbs

Air Quality History (2020–2024)

EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) data showing how many days per year fall into each air quality category.

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy (SG) Max AQI
2024 285 (79%) 76 0 97
2023 277 (76%) 84 2 118
2022 299 (82%) 65 0 87
2021 273 (75%) 92 0 100
2020 314 (86%) 52 0 80
2024 Good Air Quality: 79% of days
Median AQI: 41

Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County AQI categories: Good (0-50), Moderate (51-100), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150), Unhealthy (151-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300), Hazardous (301+)

For real-time air quality readings and pollutant breakdowns in Tennessee, see the EPA's AirNow.gov.

Water Systems (8)

System Population Violations
KINGSPORT WATER DEPT 106,765 0
BLOUNTVILLE UTILITY DISTRICT 15,647 0
BLOOMINGDALE UTILITY DISTRICT 13,318 1
SOUTH FORK UTILITY DISTRICT 7,645 0
BLUFF CITY WATER DEPARTMENT 2,763 0
INTERMONT UTILITY DISTRICT 1,849 1
EAST CARTERS VALLEY 285 0
SPRING VALLEY SUBDIVISION 185 0

TRI Facilities (16)

# Facility Total Releases
1 Eastman Chemical Co Tennessee Operations 17.4M lbs
2 Domtar Paper Co LLC Kingsport Mill 1.1M lbs
3 Bristol Metals LP 788.9K lbs
4 Microporous LLC 517.7K lbs
5 Tri-City Extrusion 36.9K lbs
6 Primester Gp 31.5K lbs
7 Polymer Industrial Products 16.1K lbs
8 Seaman Corp-Bristol Plant 11.2K lbs
9 Upm Pharmaceuticals Inc 3.0K lbs
10 Modern Forge Tennessee Llc. 509 lbs
11 Bell Helicopter Textron 0 lbs
12 Kps Global 0 lbs
13 Ready Mix USA Llc-Kingsport Plant 0 lbs
14 US Tva Boone Hydroelectric Dam 0 lbs
15 Westlake Royal Building Products 0 lbs
16 Safety-Kleen Systems Piney Flats (plt) 0 lbs

Cities in Sullivan (2)

Bristol
Pop: -
5 facilities · 3 water
Piney Flats
Pop: -
6 facilities · 0 water

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the environmental risk level in Sullivan, Tennessee?
Sullivan, TN has an environmental risk score of 47/100 (Moderate Risk), based on 16 TRI facilities, 0 Superfund sites, and 8 water systems on record. 2 water systems have health-based violations. Source: EPA TRI, SDWIS, and Superfund NPL.
Are there Superfund sites in Sullivan?
No Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites are currently registered in Sullivan, TN in the EPA database.
How many toxic release facilities are in Sullivan?
Sullivan, TN has 16 TRI-reporting facilities on record with the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, with a combined total of 19.9M lbs in reported toxic releases. TRI facilities self-report annual chemical release data to the EPA.
What is the air quality in Sullivan?
In 2024, Sullivan, TN recorded a median AQI of 41 and a peak AQI of 97. 79% of monitored days had "Good" air quality (AQI 0–50). Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County.
Is the drinking water safe in Sullivan?
Sullivan, TN has 8 EPA-regulated water systems. 2 systems have reported health-based violations (MCL exceedances). A past violation does not necessarily mean water is currently unsafe. For current water quality, contact your local water utility. Source: EPA SDWIS.
What environmental agencies cover Sullivan?
Environmental compliance in Sullivan, Tennessee is overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the federal level and the Tennessee state environmental agency. Facilities report to the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, water systems are regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and contaminated sites are managed under the Superfund program. Contact your state environmental agency for local concerns.

What does this county environmental profile show?

This county environmental profile rolls up EPA Toxics Release Inventory facility reports, Safe Drinking Water Information System public-water-system filings, and Superfund National Priorities List sites for the county boundary defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Facility counts reflect facilities with a reporting address inside the county, not where downstream environmental effects may be observed. Population figures are from the most recent Census ACS 5-year estimate. The county detail page is updated whenever the upstream EPA programs publish revised data; see the methodology page for the documented ingest cadence and the editorial choices governing how aggregations are computed.

Related

Data sourced from U.S. EPA environmental datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainEnviro Editorial