Mountaintop Removal Mining (TN)

Summary of petition

The National Parks Conservation Association and the Warioto Chapter of the National Audubon Society have filed a 'Lands Unsuitable for Surface Mining' petition to protect the water quality of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (NRRA) and the forest habitat of the Cerulean warbler in a critical portion of its vital habitat in eastern Tennessee. The Southern Environmental Law Center is representing the two conservation groups on the petition, filed with the federal Office of Surface Mining in Knoxville, on November 10, 2005.

Section 522(c) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977 allows any person having an interest which is or may be adversely affected by surface coal mining to petition to have an area designated as unsuitable for surface mining.

Using the criteria set forth in SMCRA, the allegations in the petition include but are not limited to the following:

Surface mining operations on and near the steep slopes characteristic of much of the petition area increase the likelihood of landslides and catastrophic structural failures, and reclamation cannot prevent these threats. Nearly half of the New River watershed meets the OSM definition of 'steep slope.'
It is impossible to adequately reclaim areas of dense forest in the petition area, and even attempts to reclaim surface mined lands with grassland habitat are failing in nearby watersheds with steep slopes.
Sediment and acid mine drainage from surface mining operations within the New River watershed are transported downstream and negatively impact the Big South Fork NRRA. Other parklands that could be adversely impacted by surface mining operations in the petition area include the Cumberland Trail State Scenic Trail and Park, the Royal Blue and Sundquist Wildlife Management Areas, Frozen Head State Park and Natural Area, and Cove Lake State Park. The prohibition in section 522(e)(3) of SMCRA against issuing permits for surface coal mining operations that "will adversely affect any publicly owned park" further supports designation of the lands in the petition area as unsuitable for surface mining.
Surface mining in the petition area would destroy vital habitat for numerous endangered, threatened and sensitive species that exist in, and downstream of, the petition area, including five endangered species of freshwater mussels, five fish species listed as federally- or state- threatened or endangered, or deemed in need of management by the state of Tennessee, and seven priority migratory songbird species.
Surface coal mining operations would be incompatible with numerous existing federal, state and local land use plans that govern and set goals for the usage of lands within and downstream of the petition area. These plans have at their core the preservation and improvement of water quality, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities. These goals would be seriously compromised by surface mining operations in the petition area. Among these plans is Tennessee's Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy.
Surface mining in the New River watershed would likely result in a substantial loss or reduction of long-range productivity of the local water supply for Huntsville, Tennessee. Huntsville uses the New River as a supplemental source of water for its public water supply and has indicated that it will be increasingly dependent upon the New River as a water source in the near future. Water quality impacts from surface mining would increase treatment costs, likely precluding Huntsville from being able to rely upon an important raw water source for its current and projected drinking water needs.

Under section 504 of SMCRA, the Secretary of the Interior is responsible for designating lands in Tennessee as unsuitable for surface coal mining operations. The Secretary of the Interior has delegated to the Director of the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) the authority to make a final decision regarding the designation of lands as unsuitable in Tennessee. OSM will analyze the allegations in the petition and make a determination as to what areas, coal seams, or conventional mining methodologies are unsuitable in the petition area.