10:30 am Green Around the Hills: MTR opposition reflects national attitudes
By Jennie Young
We don’t have a lot of coal mining in Tennessee. As reported last week, Tennessee mines make up barely two-tenths of one percent of the coal mining done in the U.S. Our mountains here in NE Tennessee, as well as the Smokies, have no coal reserves. So, it isn’t surprising that about half of the people of Tennessee know nothing of Mountaintop Removal Mining (MTR) and the intended assault of the Cumberland range. Most of those who are aware oppose MTR. This reflects the national attitude.
Nationally, the stewardship of our mountains is a big deal, and a moral issue. The Southern Baptist, Presbyterian USA, Unitarian, Lutheran, United Methodist, Catholic, Mennonite and Episcopalian national organizations have issued policy statements against MTR. Five of our largest banks (Citi, JPMorganChase, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and PNC), as well as Credit Suisse, announced in 2010 that they will no longer finance coal operations that explode away mountaintops.
The thin seams of low-grade coal are in our Cumberlands, one of the most bio-diverse regions of the world. Tennessee’s economy relies heavily on tourism. Almost 200,000 Tennesseans work in the tourism industry, as opposed to the few who work in the state’s coal industry at present. Recent closings of offices and work stoppage at mine sites account for the low number of jobs, but at top employment the number was under 400. There will be more, later, about MTR as the much trumpeted job creator, but, for now, doubt it.
Specific to MTR, the Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act is the first effort at legislation to prevent the loss of any more of our mountains to MTR. The bill was intentionally held in committee for four years before it was defeated — first in the House and then, on March 30, 2011, in the Senate. It was never allowed to come to a floor vote where, under more public scrutiny, it likely would have passed.
The short bill was drafted by the Lindquist Environmental Appalachian Fellowship (LEAF), a multi-denominational network, and the National Parks Conservation Association. It is not anti-coal. It prohibits “surface coal mining operations to alter or disturb any ridgeline that is above two thousand (2,000) feet above sea level.” It further clarifies, “This subsection does not prohibit any other allowable surface coal mining above two thousand feet (2,000)….. that does not alter or disturb a ridgeline.” In other words, it protects those scenic ridgelines that so define us while allowing traditional coal extraction to continue. Surface mining below 2,000 feet, where 90 percent of Tennessee’s coal reserves are embedded, is not prohibited. The bill will be reintroduced in both houses in January. Members of both parties have expressed support for the bill, although the vote that defeated it ended up being largely along party lines. More about that next week, when we will be giving details about the bill’s initial defeat, and how some senators who consistently supported it, voted against it. It’s not uplifting.
If the bill’s provisions already resonate with you and you’d like to say so to encourage the good folk behind it, go to the following link and cast your vote. It‘s easy.
http:/www.gopetition.com/ petitions/support-the-tennessee-scenic-vistas-protection-act. html.
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