Family Wants Answers About Black Substance on House

A Kingsport family contacted us about a black, oily substance on their property.  What is it?  Where it is coming from?  Is it a health hazard?  No one wanted to answer these basic questions until we got involved. 

The Coleman family lives on New Beason Well Road in Kingsport.  11 Connects Digital Journalist Melissa Hipolit investigates.

Bill Coleman’s wife Evelyn likes a clean house. No one knows that more than their daughter Diana Webster, who said, “she’s a clean freak.”

Webster wasn’t sure what to think when her mom started complaining four years ago about a black substance coating their house.  “I thought, it’s just mom being picky, but it’s more,” said Webster.

Webster’s father Bill showed 11 Connects where the black substance is most visible.  He wiped screens, walls, gutters, the deck, and an old table with several clean white rags.

One of the most obvious signs of the black substance that can be found all over the Coleman home is on a post at the front of the house. 

“I got a leak in my gutter right here, just drips, drips right on top of this post, and you can see how black where the oil runs off of the top of the house,” said Coleman.

The Coleman’s said they think they know what is causing the residue; a building next door owned by EMBARQ Communications. 

“I think it is EMBARQ, over here, with that generator that they have,” said Coleman. “You can see the black running down on both sides of their building from it.” 

EMBARQ representatives told us the substance was not related to their operations.

“We do not believe their complaint is related to our facility,” said EMBARQ Spokesman Vernon Fraley.  In a phone interview last week, Fraley told 11 Connects that building is the Kingsport East Central Office for EMBARQ.  He said it contains a diesel-fueled back up generator that goes into use when the power goes out.

“We have inspected that facility, and that back up generator is not leaking, and that facility is in great shape,” said Fraley.

In addition to the occasional power outage, Fraley said the generator runs every Wednesday for 15 to 30 minutes for maintenance purposes.  “That would be the equivalent of someone parking a truck in your driveway for a few minutes once a week…that doesn’t cause any type of damage or residue,” said Fraley.

But Coleman said he sees the generator running more than once a week.  “It will come on all during the day,” said Coleman.

Whatever the cause, the Coleman family said they just want an explanation.  “It could be a health problem, we don’t know, but we’d like to find out the answers,” said Webster.

EMBARQ said it would like some answers too.  A week after Fraley’s initial phone interview, he came to the Tri-Cities to give us this statement on camera.

“EMBARQ has always been a good neighbor, and we want to get this issue addressed as quickly as possible,” said Fraley.

After 11 Connects called to report the black substance, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation stopped by to take samples of the residue and investigate EMBARQ’s facility, as well as other possible causes.

In the meantime, the Coleman’s will do what they have done for the past four years, wait, scrub, and hope for an answer…once and for all.

“You work all your life, pay for a house, and then somebody messes it up like that,” said Coleman.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is still waiting for the results from the three samples they took last week.  In the meantime, they will not speculate on what the substance could be, or where it might be coming from.  We promise to bring you those results when we learn them.
If you have a similar complaint, contact the Tennessee Department of Conservation’s complaint line.  That number is 1-888-891-8332.  You can also email your complaint to .  You can always contact your local representative for help.  They are well connected to state agencies and can get the ball rolling faster than the average person.