Free Republic

NASHVILLE — Sandra Dudley has moved on, free to worry about other toilets in other places. Dudley, you’ll remember, is the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation official who warned employees against flushing shoes down work toilets. TDEC officials are adamant the results of a recent employee engagement survey had nothing to do with Dudley’s departure. Dudley’s replacement — for a job that generally requires a professional engineer — has a background in journalism... [Snip]...

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee official most responsible for maintaining the quality of the state’s water and public works systems has to remind her own employees how to use a toilet. That includes a warning they’re not supposed to flush their shoes down the commode. Sandra K. Dudley, director of the Water Resources Division of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, sent an email Thursday warning employees about the perils of flushing a variety of not toilet-friendly objects while using the facilities at the department’s main offices in downtown Nashville, at the Tennessee Tower

Most people do not believe that complaining about water quality is an act of terrorism, but Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation's (TDEC) Deputy Director Sherwin Smith isn't most people. Smith told a group of Maury County residents, on May 29, that baseless complaints about water quality could be considered an "act of terrorism," The Tennessean reported on Thursday. In an audio recording, Smith told the crowd: "We take water quality very seriously. Very, very seriously. But you need to make sure that when you make water quality complaints you have a basis, because federally, if there's no water quality...

NASHVILLE — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's administration has fired two top officials at the Department of Environment and Conservation, while a third has announced his retirement. The department said in a statement Friday that the changes are "designed to streamline our structure and build management efficiencies." Changes are to include the creation of a single water resources division encompassing the department's pollution control, water supply and groundwater management programs, according to the statement. The fired officials are Mike Apple, head of the department's solid waste management division, and Paul E. Davis, who was in charge of water pollution control. Meanwhile,...