Environmentalists Take a Stand Against Mountaintop Mining in Tennessee

[Judi Lynn]

Environmentalists Take a Stand Against Mountaintop Mining in Tennessee Current rating: 0
by amanda womac
08 Aug 2005
Modified: 08:02:55 PM
Elk Valley, TN – Activists with Mountain Justice Summer gathered at the Zeb Mountain mine on Sunday, August 7, 2005, to protest the mountaintop mining happening at Zeb Mountain. The rally and march is part of the summer-long campaign of Mountain Justice Summer featuring speakers from across Appalachia, music, and colorful theatre.

Participants delivered demands to the National Coal Corporation regarding their Mine #7 at Zeb Mountain where they are currently removing three peaks using cross-ridge mining, a form of mountaintop mining that blows off the top of the mountain. This practice differs from mountaintop removal in that the peaks are “reclaimed” after the mining process is over. The coal company claims to put the mountain back to its “approximate original contour.”

The demands Mountain Justice Summer will make to the National Coal Corporation are: 1) Shut down the Zeb Mountain mine and stop all surface mining because it destroys watersheds, pollutes drinking water, blocks access to public land, and destroys forest ecosystems, fishing and hunting areas; 2) Employ local residents in FULL restoration, not reclamation, of previously mined areas; 3) Give reparations to those who have been adversely impacted by destructive strip mining.

National Coal is also in clear violation of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act under a statue that says no mining activity shall be done within 100 feet of a public road. At the Zeb Mountain mine site, there is a sediment pond twice as large as the mining plans call for located 8-10 feet from Lick Fork Road. This sediment pond has developed a crack and leaks orange-rust colored water and is located just 300 feet from a farmhouse. Residents of Elk Valley consider this a safety issue and want something done about it.
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http://www.tnimc.org/feature/display/6555/index.php

[Samantha]

1. Thanks for posting this

I am going to send it to some of my relatives in Tennessee.

I could not believe it a couple of years ago when I saw Knoxville, Tennesee listed among the top ten cities with the dirtiest air in the country. I spent many of my early years there, and visited most summers. The air was sweet and clean, so different than here in D.C.

Some of my relatives now are plagued with asthma. They are among George Bush*s biggest proponents. Difficult to believe, isn't it?

[WhiteTara]

2. kick

:kick: