Coal Mining in the Cumberlands
Protecting Public Lands on Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau
SELC Urges OSM to Look at Benefits of Saving Lands on Cumberland Plateau
Earlier this month, the U.S. Office of Surface Mining held its first public meetings as it begins considering Tennessee’s petition to save public lands on the Cumberland Plateau from mountaintop removal and other forms of surface mining. SELC Senior Attorney Deborah Murray took part in the hearings and urged OSM officials to look at the broad environmental and economic benefits of granting Tennessee’s request.
Countering arguments that protecting these landscapes would kill jobs and choke economic recovery, she emphasized that bringing surface mining onto these wildlife management areas would strike a severe blow to recreation and tourism—not only on the affected ridge tops, but also downstream in places like Cumberland Trail State Park, Frozen Head State Park, and the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.
A recent University of Tennessee study found that visitors to Tennessee’s state parks contributed $1.5 billion directly or indirectly to the state’s economy in 2008 alone and are a boon to businesses in rural communities. This represents a $37 return for every $1 the state invests in its parks. The National Park Service estimates that recreation on and around the Big South Fork generates up to $16 million each year for the region’s economy.
Deborah also called for OSM to examine the full range of detrimental impacts of allowing surface mining on the state lands, including:
- The clear-cutting of mature forests, which support the Plateau’s world-renowned biodiversity;
- Pollution in downstream waterways, especially in tributaries of the Big South Fork, and other aquatic treasures; and
- Damage to unfragmented habitat critical to vulnerable wildlife, such as the cerulean warbler and aquatic species found nowhere else in the world.
See our Fact Sheet for more details.
Case Summary
Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau is renowned for its expansive forests, rich aquatic life and outstanding outdoor recreation. In years past, surface coal mining left a devastating environmental footprint on the plateau-clear cuts, polluted rivers, and unstable slopes that led to landslides. The region is beginning to recover its biological grandeur, but the threat of future mountaintop removal and similarly destructive forms of surface mining is still present.
SELC has been engaged for several years in efforts to protect the best of the Cumberland Plateau's lands from the worst impacts of coal mining.
Lands Unsuitable for Coal Mining
In October 2010, Tennessee petitioned the federal Office of Surface Mining (OSM) to declare the ridge tops of state lands on the northern plateau off-limits to surface coal mining. Approximately 67,000 acres would be protected in the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area (formerly the Royal Blue, Sundquist and New River units) and the Emory River Tracts Conservation Easement. These places contain most of the older-growth forest that exist in the area, as well as an array of habitats and wildlife, including rare and threatened species.
As Governor Phil Bredesen noted in his press release of the announcement:
"These lands are managed by the state of Tennessee for hunting, hiking, wildlife viewing and other outdoor recreational activities. This petition asks the federal government to help us prevent mining on these ridgelines to protect their important cultural, recreational and scientific resources."
The Tennessee Valley Authority and a number of private coal companies own the rights to coal deposits below these lands. Under this designation, they could still conduct underground mining, as well as surface mining below the 1,200-foot wide corridor along the ridge tops that the state seeks to protect.
SELC fully supports the state's action, and in November 2010, filed to intervene (pdf) in the petition process on behalf of a number of organizations to reinforce the state's efforts.
A National Park, Rivers and Songbirds at Stake
The northern Cumberland Plateau and its rivers harbor one of the highest concentrations of endangered species in North America. It also provides vital breeding habitat for almost a third of all surviving Cerulean warblers, a migratory songbird whose numbers have declined more than 80 percent in the past four decades.
The New River watershed is part of this region, and forms the primary drainage to the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, a natural treasure and major economic force for nearby communities. In creating the 125,000-acre national park in 1974, Congress called for coordinated efforts by federal and state agencies to minimize water quality impacts, including siltation and acid drainage from mining occurring beyond the park boundary.
Seeking to protect these critical resources, SELC filed a "lands unsuitable" petition in 2005 on behalf of the National Parks Conservation Association and the Warioto Chapter (Tennessee) of the Audubon Society. Like the state's current petition, ours sought to restrict surface coal mining on the public lands of the plateau where some of the highest densities of Cerulean warbler have been recorded. In addition, our petition encompassed the much broader area of the entire New River watershed to protect the Big South Fork National Park. Our effort was stymied by the Bush administration, which consistently resisted stronger environmental regulation of the coal industry.
More background on this case:
Fact sheet on Tennessee’s plan to protect Cumberland ridgetops >>