A public awareness campaign

Before We Drill Again

Are we about to drill the same ground again — before anyone has mapped what's under it?

In karst country, the first warning isn't a headline — it's a neighbor's well. That's the canary. We'd rather it never sing.

A new high school is proposed for the Poplar Hill cluster — on the same Middle Tennessee karst where geothermal drilling was followed by documented, well-recorded damage. Before that decision is final, the public deserves to understand what's beneath the ground.

How to Weigh In Understand the Geology

A decision is approaching — and the public has a window to be heard.

The school board meets again in the coming weeks — the next work session, regular board meeting (with public comment), and County Commission meeting are listed with dates at the top of this page (school board: RCS Central Office, 2240 Southpark Drive, Murfreesboro; County Commission: Historic Courthouse). Source: the official RCS board calendar and the Rutherford County meeting schedule. These meetings are the window for residents and taxpayers to ask that the ground be properly studied before any drilling decision is locked in. Show up, write in, and ask the question below.

Start here

The two things every Rutherford County parent should see

Not opinion — published science, in plain language. Read either one and you'll understand what's at stake, and why testing first isn't optional.

The geology

How Karst Works

What's really under our feet — caves, conduits, and the thin clay bridge holding it together.

See why →
The stakes

Failing to Plan Is Planning to Fail

What it costs to skip the test — with documented cases where drilling karst went wrong.

See why →
The one reasonable request

We're not asking you to stop the school. We're asking you to study the ground first.

This isn't about whether or where to build. It's about how — and specifically about one high-risk choice that can be made carefully or carelessly.

If the high school must be built on the proposed site, then the HVAC decision — whether to drill geothermal wells into karst bedrock — should be made advisedly, and only after thorough, rigorous, science-based site investigation appropriate to karst terrain.

Why HVAC?

A geothermal system requires drilling many deep wells into the bedrock. That drilling — not the building itself — is what disturbs karst and can trigger collapse. A different HVAC choice avoids it entirely.

Process, not outcome

We're asking for diligence, not a verdict: do the geophysical and geotechnical study first. Geothermal can stay on the table — but only if the science says the ground can take it.

It's the professional standard

Mapping karst before drilling into it is recognized professional practice for building over this ground. Tennessee has never written it into a school-siting rule — which is precisely why the Board has to require it here.

What the local record shows

One building ago, on this same ground — and the record is public.

When the Poplar Hill elementary school was built on Baker Road, the project drilled geothermal wells into karst limestone. The public record of what followed is the clearest reason to be careful this time.

Open karst voids under a neighboring home. A replacement-well log (well #20250267, 270 ft) records open voids in the limestone at 120–121 ft and 250–251 ft directly beneath the property.
Source: TN well log #20250267.
Confirmed structural damage. An engineering assessment (EFI Global) found the neighboring home meets the definition of structural damage under Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-7-130 — floor differential up to 2.0 in, exceeding the ANSI L/240 standard.
Source: EFI Global engineering report.
A regulatory violation on the drilling. The Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation issued a Notice of Violation (Sept 5, 2025) to the drilling contractor for failing to file required well-closure reports. This is a reporting violation — it is not a finding about the conditions described above.
Source: TDEC Notice of Violation, Rule 0400-45-09-.16(9).

These are matters of public and engineering record. A related lawsuit is ongoing; this page takes no position on its outcome and names no parties as a conclusion of fault — it presents the documented risk so the community can ask informed questions.

Infographic summarizing the on-the-record findings: karst voids, structural damage, and regulatory violation following geothermal drilling at the elementary school site.
Summary of the on-the-record findings. Every figure is attributed to a primary source.
Karst 101

Why the ground beneath Middle Tennessee deserves caution

What is karst?

Karst forms where soluble bedrock — mostly limestone — is slowly dissolved by groundwater, leaving underground caves, channels, and voids. The surface can look perfectly stable while the rock beneath is riddled with cavities. Middle Tennessee sits on mapped karst — the Central Basin, developed in the Ridley, Carters and Murfreesboro Limestones. The USGS's 2024 statewide dataset maps tens of thousands of closed depressions and sinkholes across Tennessee, and the great majority of counties contain at least one.

Why is drilling the danger?

In karst, the clay layer between the surface and bedrock acts as a structural bridge over voids. Drilling that disturbs this layer — or breaches the pressurized aquifer below — can fracture the clay, enlarge existing voids, and set off sinkhole formation. The hazard isn't the school; it's putting many deep holes into ground that is already hollow in places.

Three-dimensional block diagram of karst terrain showing the limestone bedrock honeycombed with caves and solution voids, sinkholes at the surface, and drilling penetrating into the cavernous rock.
How the ground works: beneath the surface, the limestone is honeycombed with caves and voids. Drilling into this rock is what risks opening and connecting them.
Doing it right

What rigorous, karst-appropriate investigation looks like

None of this is exotic. It's the recognized professional standard for building over karst — and the whole of our ask is that it be required, every time, before drilling.

  • Geophysical survey by licensed geotechnical professionals to map subsurface voids before any drilling — standard practice for construction over karst.
  • Site-specific geotechnical assessment of the actual parcel, not a generic regional assumption.
  • Karst-feature mapping of sinkholes, depressions, and drainage on and around the site.
  • An informed HVAC decision made after that evidence — choosing whether geothermal drilling is safe here, or whether another system avoids the risk.
  • Modern drilling practice appropriate to fractured, water-bearing karst if drilling proceeds at all.
  • A standing requirement, not a project-by-project judgment call — because the geology doesn't change between projects.
See for yourself

What is beneath the proposed site

The proposed school site (★) sits inside a field of documented water wells and karst sinkholes. Search your own street, toggle the layers, and see the proximity for yourself.

Interactive map opens on the site. It lists its own primary data sources — USGS (sinkholes/depressions) and TDEC (registered wells) — and links each well to its official report. The proposed-site marker (★) marks the Dismukes farm, the parcel proposed for the new high school.

Before the decision is final

How to weigh in

Application to Speak at a Board Meeting

1

Show up

Attend an upcoming school board meeting — the next dates are listed at the top of this page (RCS Central Office, 2240 Southpark Drive, Murfreesboro). Public comment at board meetings follows the district's public participation process — that's where reasonable questions become part of the record.

2

Ask the question

Ask the board, in writing or in person: "Will a rigorous, karst-appropriate site investigation be completed before any geothermal drilling is approved?"

3

Share what you learn

Send neighbors to this page. An informed public is the best protection against a costly mistake made quietly.

Send a message in 60 seconds

Your representatives count the messages they get. Edit this note to sound like you, copy it, and send it to the people who decide.

School Board MembersClick a name to email, or copy the address — verified from rcschools.net
County CommissionersAll 21 districts — verified from rutherfordcountytn.gov
State Legislators for Rutherford CountySenate & House — verified from capitol.tn.gov
Copied — now paste it to your reps

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Building near the site — or anywhere on karst?

If you live in Middle Tennessee, you live on karst. Anyone planning to build any structure over karst should insist on the same diligence described above. If your property has shown new cracks, settling, or changes in water behavior, consider an assessment by a qualified geotechnical professional.

Resources & references

Scientific, regulatory, and professional organizations for karst geology and construction over karst.

Scientific & geological

Tennessee Division of Geology
State geological survey — sinkhole databases, karst maps, geotechnical guidance.
MTSU Center for Cedar Glade Studies
Karst ecology and geology of the Central Basin region.
The map above cites its own primary data sources inline — USGS (sinkholes) and TDEC (water wells).

Engineering & regulatory

Geo-Institute of ASCE
Geotechnical engineering — sinkhole investigation and karst foundation design.
Assoc. of Environmental & Engineering Geologists
Referral source for karst-specific construction assessments.