Tennessee coal production is in steep decline. Having fallen more than 80% in two decades, coal produced in Tennessee now represents just 0.2% of the coal mined in the United States. That coal increasingly comes from destructive surface mining methods. Roughly two-thirds of Tennessee’s coal comes from surface mines, which have negatively impacted more than 125 square miles of Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau. Just three Counties (Claiborne, Campbell, Anderson) represent 98% of all coal production in Tennessee. Tennessee has the smallest recoverable reserves at active mines of any state in the U.S., according to the Energy Information Administration.
The bottom line? Coal is on its way out the door in Tennessee. Tennessee’s coal production and employment has plummeted in the last 20 years, and will continue to fall years to come. Hardly any of the coal mined in Tennessee stays in Tennessee. Yet the destruction in our state continues. Its time that Tennessee leads the way in stopping mountaintop removal.
Passing the Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act
Appalachian Voices’ primary goal in the Tennessee legislature is to pass the bipartisan Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act. This legislation will ban high-elevation surface mining techniques such as mountaintop removal, on peaks over 2000 feet of elevation in the state.
What mines will be effected by the Scenic Vistas bill, and who owns them?
Only surface mines which impact ridgelines above 2,000 feet will be impacted. 95% of the high-elevation surface mines in Tennessee are owned by out-of-state coal operators who are sending our mountains and our money back out of state. In return, we are left with layoffs, poverty, and poisoned water.
Here is a list of all active mines, along with their ownership. 47% are owned by Jim Justice, who just shut down National Coal and laid off 155 workers here in Tennessee.
Who burns the coal mined in Tennessee?
Most of the coal mined in Tennessee heads on the rails to be burned in South Carolina and Georgia (EIA). The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) owns 90% of the electric generating capacity in Tennessee. In 2011, Tennessee coal made up just 0.2% of TVA’s coal purchases, due to the fact that Tennessee coal was the most expensive for TVA to buy. A majority of TVA’s coal comes from western states, often at less half the cost of coal from Tennessee. Read more about our work regarding TVA and coal here.
Is Mountaintop Removal Cheaper for Tennessee and Appalachian Citizens?
No. TVA pays as much or more for surface mined coal than for underground mined coal from Central Appalachia (CAPP). For 2010, the last year we have full data for, TVA actually paid more for CAPP surface mined coal than for CAPP underground mined coal. In the graph to the right, you’ll see 2010 data on TVA’s fuel cost (cents/million Btu) for their purchases of CAPP coal. Preliminary numbers for 2011 are similar. This data can be sourced to the Energy Information Administration, form EIA-923.
In addition, our taxpayer dollars go to prop-up the same coal industry that is blasting down the Appalachian Mountains. Recent studies show that Tennessee taxpayers experience a net loss of $3 million in subsidies to the coal industry every year.
Is Mountaintop Removal good for Employment in Tennessee?
No. The coal industry is causing a jobs crisis, and deepening endemic Appalachian poverty in the communities where mountaintop removal is taking place. Since 1985, the coal industry in Tennessee has laid off 85% of their own workforce while the portion of our state’s coal that comes from surface mining has increased 44%.
Mountaintop removal is a method that is used specifically to take the coal miner out of coal mining. By design, workers are replaced by heavy machinery and explosives. This has been happening all over Appalachia. In West Virginia alone, coal industry jobs have shrunk from more than 130,000 to around 30,000 due to an increase in surface mining.
The more mountaintop removal we do, the fewer jobs we have. Since 2007 we’ve been through a recession and have begun increased federal oversight of surface mines. Nevertheless, we’ve actually seen an increase in Central Appalachian mining jobs. This is because companies are increasingly using underground mining to meet production goals.
If mountaintop removal were going to bring prosperity and wealth to our rural communities, the streets of Central Appalachia would be paved with gold. Instead, these companies not only lay off 1000s of workers, but leave behind them a wake of poverty.
Did The “Responsible Mining Act of 2009″ (RMA) fix the problems associated with surface mining, or end mountaintop removal in Tennessee?
The coal lobbyists like to say that the “Responsible Mining Act of 2009″ solved all our problems here in Tennessee, and that we don’t have anything to worry about. The RMA was a positive step, enacting a “Stream Buffer Zone” in Tennessee, which “restricts” mining within 100 feet of the high water mark of a stream in certain circumstances. These buffer zones have not always been successful in the past. There was a federal stream buffer zone rule put in place under President Reagan in 1983, which was on the books until President George W. Bush removed it his final days in office. However, it was poorly enforced, and most mountaintop removal and valleyfills in Appalachia happened despite the presence of this stream buffer zone rule.
The RMA certainly did not fix the problems associated with surface mining or end mountaintop removal in Tennessee. It is clear that the surface mining happening in Tennessee is still having negative impacts on our water quality. For instance, in Tennessee there is currently a surface mine permit application which seeks to dump waste into three valley-fills, or as they call them here “head-of-hollow” fills.
Since 2010, we have seen 5 more high-elevation surface mines become active. Its obvious that the RMA leaves a lot to be desired for protecting our mountains and our citizens from the dangers of surface mining.
In addition, its important to remember that acid mine drainage and toxic runoff is a horrible problem in Tennessee, where we have some of the most highly toxic coal in the nation. In fact, the Sewanee coal seam underlying much of Central Tennessee is the most toxic coal seam east of the Mississippi.
Does “re-mining” improve water quality in Tennessee?
Reclamation and restoration can help partially restore some of the degraded streams that the coal industry has already impacted with previous activities. However, “re-mining,” on its own, has nothing to do with stream repair.
The Tennessee Mining Association said, in a recent letter to a citizen:
In Tennessee approximately 90 – 95% of our surface coal mining is re-mining of pre-law sites.
The truth is often that very little of a certain permit will include re-mined land.
At the core of this argument, the coal industry is saying that more mountaintop removal is good for the environment. Which, is ridiculous on its face. But, when you look at the facts, it actually becomes even more ridiculous. Looking at the list of impaired streams for Tennessee (section 303(d)), we can see what impacts coal mining and abandoned mining have had on impaired streams. Indeed, many streams are impaired from abandoned mines. However, none of them were unlisted in 2010 because of new coal mining. However, four streams in Claiborne and two in Campbell county were listed because of coal mining and the associated impacts to water quality.
Will this bill end all types of mining anywhere by any means forever?
In a recent letter to a citizen, the Tennessee Mining Association asserted:
Should implementation of the TSVPA go through, private individuals, companies and corporations would be prohibited from accessing the minerals that are rightful theirs.
First of all, its apparent that the Tennessee Mining Association has not actually read the Tennessee Scenic Vistas Act, which does not prohibit anyone from mining any coal, but clearly states:
Except as provided in subdivision (3) under no circumstances shall the commissioner issue or renew a permit, certification, or variance that would allow surface coal mining operations to alter or disturb any ridgeline that is above two thousand feet (2,000′) elevation above sea level. [emphasis added]
The Scenic Vistas bill only means that when and if you mine coal, you can not disturb that ridgeline if it is above 2,000 feet.
The bill further clarifies:
The requirements of this subsection do not apply to surface coal mining activities that are only incidental to underground mining if the commissioner determines that surface disturbance and effect is limited to that required to conduct underground mining that is otherwise permissible pursuant to federal and state law.
Will this bill impact severance tax collection?
Immediately, no. All existing permits and their renewals are grandfathered in.
Over time, the bill would only impact severance if coal companies stop mining coal if they are not allowed to destroy ridgelines.
In addition, the coal industry routinely gives more to their allies in the legislature than they return to the people of counties where they mine coal. For instance, Claiborne is projected to have collected around $186,000 in 2011 from surface mined coal. The previous election year, the coal industry gave $195,000 to Lt.Governor Ron Ramsey.
Appalachian Voices’ Additional Priorities
In addition to our work on Scenic Vistas legislation, Appalachian Voices will work with allies to ensure that the North Cumberland Lands Unsuitable for Mining (LUM) petition is finalized. This LUM would protect more than 67,000 acres in central Tennessee.
Lastly, we will fight individual surface mining permits that threaten the well-being of Tennessee’s mountains, streams, and communities.
Tennessee