NEW LEGISLATION PROPOSED TO PROTECT TENNESSEE’S MOUNTAINS FROM SURFACE MINING

Contact: Senator Raymond Finney (615-741-2427)  sen.raymond.finney@legislature.state.tn.us
  Dawn Coppock  (865-382-0895)   sdcoppock@aol.com
               Patricia Hudson (865-281-9163)   tnleaf.org@gmail.com
              
(NASHVILLE,TN) --  Today Tennessee Senator Raymond Finney (R-Maryville) and Rep. Mike McDonald (D-Portland) introduced The Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act, a bill to dramatically curtail surface and cross ridge mining in Tennessee. The bill proposes:

1. No new water permits to be issued by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) for surface mining until a Comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement is completed by the federal Office of Surface Mining.

2. No permits for any surface coal operations within 100 feet of any surface water in the State of Tennessee.

3. No permit certification for any surface coal mining that alters or disturbs any ridgeline above 2000 feet in elevation.

The destructive form of coal mining known as mountain top removal (called cross ridge mining in Tennessee) is poised to expand within the state. More than a dozen state permits for proposed sites are currently pending. Cross ridge mining literally blows the tops off mountains to extract coal, leaving behind a devastated landscape and a host of problems for the residents of surrounding communities, including water pollution, flooding, lowered property values, and the permanent destruction of the scenic beauty that, if left intact, can enrich these communities in the future through real estate development and tourism dollars.  Because cross ridge mining is heavily mechanized, it creates very few jobs for local residents.

Cross ridge mining is a shortsighted use of Tennessee’s natural resources that provides very few benefits for citizens of the state.

“The decision to allow the permanent destruction of dozens of mountains in Tennessee shouldn’t be made without a thorough study of the costs and benefits for the citizens of the state,” says Dawn Coppock, co-founder of LEAF (Lindquist Environmental Appalachian Fellowship) a Christian group whose mission is to spread the message of Creation Care to congregations in east Tennessee.
 
 “Our faith calls us to be good stewards of God’s creation and to be concerned for the well-being of our neighbors,” says LEAF’s co-founder Patricia Hudson.  “All you have to do is look at what’s happened at mountain top removal sites in Kentucky and West Virginia to see how devastating this type of mining is for both the land and its residents.”

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For background on mountain top removal coal mining in Appalachia: www.ilovemountains.org    For additional legislative information as well as background on faith and environment in Tennessee:  www.tnleaf.org   

For more information on the program, please visit www.tnecd.gov, click on “small business” and “small business energy loans.”