Tennessee Senate Dodges Historic Vote on Mountaintop Removal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 13, 2012 Tennessee Senate Dodges Historic Vote on Mountaintop Removal Scenic Vistas Act Delayed, House Subcommittee Vote Up Next – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – CONTACT: JW Randolph, Tennessee Director, 615-592-6867, jw@appvoices.org Molly Moore, Public Outreach Associate, 828-262-1500,…

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Prominent Citizens Speak Up To Protect Tennessee Scenic Vistas

(Clockwise from top): Victor Ashe, Rev. Gradye Parsons, Anne Davis Prominent Tennessee citizens are lending their voices of support to the original language of the Scenic Vistas Protection Act, a bill currently in the state legislature that is aimed to stop mountaintop removal coal mining in Tennessee. In the state’s top daily newspaper, The Nashville…

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Update on Mountain Advocacy in Tennessee Legislature

Dawn Coppock, Legislative Director of LEAF has a spot-on letter in the Knoxville News Sentinel. Reprinted below. Can an engineer make a mountain as well as God can? The coal industry says, “Yes”; Tennesseans loudly say, “No”; and the state Senate is still ducking, stalling and faking. I advocate for the Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection…

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What Happened in the Tennessee Legislature Today?

Mountaintop Removal Bill Goes to the Senate Floor We’re still alive! Appalachian Voices and other Tennessee coalition partners have moved the conversation on banning mountaintop removal to the floor of the Tennessee State Senate. The Senate Energy and Environment Committee this morning vote 8-1 to move a bill forward. BUT, its a bit complicated. Before…

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Senate Committee Misses Historic Opportunity to Protect Tennessee Mountains

PRESS STATEMENT CONTACT: J.W. Randolph, Appalachian Voices, 202-669-3670, jw@appvoices.org The Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act, introduced by state Sen. Eric Stewart, was designed to stop surface coal mining that alters or disturbs a ridgeline over 2,000 feet of elevation, effectively banning mountaintop removal coal mining in the state. On Wed., Feb. 29 the State Senate…

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Tennessee Coal Industry Should Read the Bill

Why does the coal industry need to make things up? Because they are on the wrong side of the facts, they are on the wrong side of public opinion, and they are on the wrong side of history. Fortunately, they don’t have a defensible case to continue doing mountaintop removal here in Tennessee. Unfortunately, too…

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URGENT: Tennessee Scenic Vistas Bill to be Voted on Wednesday

Bill will first go before Senate Environment Committee The Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act, which will make Tennessee become the first state to put a ban on high-elevation surface mining techniques such as mountaintop removal, faces an important hurdle this Wednesday (2/29) in the Senate Environment Committee. We expect the vote to be very close,…

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We Can End Mountaintop Removal in Tennessee

By Dr. Minnie Vance Chattanooga, Tenn. In Tennessee, we love our mountains. These peaks and valleys inform our southern heritage, enhance our connection to family and represent the best of what we call state and country. Our mountains are home. Nevertheless, we too are facing down the barrel of continued mountaintop removal mining. Unfortunately, in…

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