Tryon Equestrian Centre, WEG 2018.

By Equestrian Life

Tryon International Equestrian Centre (TIEC), the venue that hosted the 2018 World Equestrian Games, has been fined more then $64k for water quality violations.

In December, the NC Department of Environmental Quality issues a civil penalty to the venue for water quality violations in streams surrounding the centre, stemming from last summer. The issue came about due to the centre impacting 11,438 linear feet of eight streams with sediment deposition resulting from land disturbing activities. The issue has arisen as the venue continues to grow in size, due to the earthmoving and construction.

Storms brewing on the way to WEG in Tryon.

© Michelle Terlato

The 2018 WEG saw 800 athletes and their horses, and an estimated 400,000 spectators. Rushed construction in the lead up to the Games, in conjunction with heavy rainfall, has likely contributed to the sediment contamination of surround steams. Tryon is a notoriously wet area, and in 2018 received a whopping 76.28 inches of rain (more than 1,900mm) — which is above the still sizeable yearly average of 56.53 inches.

TIEC is working hard to remediate pollution violations and plans to appeal the civil penalty.

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