Select Tennessee Site Certification Program

To increase the inventory of sites throughout the state that are ready for industrial development, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) contracted with Austin Consulting to develop and implement Select Tennessee, a rigorous site certification program.

Using the same principals used in evaluating sites for corporate clients, Austin worked with ECD to develop a stringent set of certification requirements. To streamline the process and ensure that sites were subjected to the appropriate environmental due diligence, partnerships were formed with key environmental regulatory agencies, such as the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. These agencies investigated and documented environmental conditions, archaeological sites, protected species and jurisdictional waters.

Fifty-four (54) sites throughout the state have been certified under the program to-date. Site sizes range from 20 to 840 acres.

Key minimum requirements for Select Tennessee sites include:

• 20 or more contiguous developable acres
• A confirmed asking price from a willing seller
• Evidence of clear title
• Documented acreage outside known flood prone areas
• Property boundary or ALTA survey
• Topographic survey (min. 2’ contour intervals)
• Truck quality road access
• All utilities (adequate capacities) at the site or a formal plan to extend to the site within a reasonable timeframe
• Current zoning in place or an expedited rezoning plan
• Documented permitting process, timeline and fees
• A recent Phase I Environmental Site Assessment
• Preliminary geotechnical study
• Documentation of water resources, known cultural resources, and protected species