Newport is the Cocke County seat, on the Pigeon River just above where it meets the French Broad. To the south and east the county climbs into the Smokies and the Cherokee National Forest, and English Mountain rises along the line with Sevier County.
That makes Cocke County two kinds of job. In the creek and river bottoms, it is soft ground, flooding and wet soil, where a pad needs fill and compaction and a septic system needs the soil evaluation to say yes. On the mountainsides, it is steep, shallow, rocky soil, where every house site and driveway is a question of how to climb without washing out.
Cocke County is not one of TDEC’s contract counties, so septic permits and soil evaluations come from TDEC’s Division of Water Resources. Driveways deserve real planning here: a steep gravel drive needs drainage turnouts and a surface that holds, or the first hard rain will move it downhill.
What we do in Newport
- Land clearing and tree removal
- House sites, pads and footers
- Septic installs to the permit
- Underground utility trenches
- Gravel driveways and drainage
- Pool digs and installs
QNewport questions
Asked about Newport.
Who issues septic permits in Cocke County?
TDEC’s Division of Water Resources. Cocke County is not a contract county, so the state program handles the soil evaluation and the construction permit.
How steep can a gravel driveway be?
There’s no single number. Steep gravel drives can work, but they need drainage turnouts, a well-compacted base and the right gravel, and very steep sections may need to be paved or rerouted. We look at the slope and the water before we suggest a route.
Do you work on mountain lots near Newport?
Yes, we serve the East Tennessee region. Call us with the location and we’ll tell you straight whether it’s a fit and what access the machines will need.