Tennessee House members silence coal ash bill
Lake City, Tenn. (Thursday, April 8, 2010) – Today, the Tennessee Legislature killed an important coal ash bill in a House of Representatives subcommittee, successfully failing the Tennessee people and land again this spring.
In light of the death of the Scenic Vistas Protection Act,the Tennessee Legislature made it clear again today that they would rather support the cradle-to-grave cycle of coal than protect their Tennesseans, land and children’s future.
Statewide Organizing for Community empowerment – Tennessee’s only member-run social justice organization - is disappointed by the House members’ failure to take action this morning. Their overlook has left Tennesseans without a plan to more safely handle the nearly eight million tons of coal ash that TVA plans to place in landfills yearly.[1]
Sen. Charlotte Burks (D-Dist. 15) and Rep. Eric Swafford (R- Dist. 25) introduced bills to prepare for the influx of new and expanding coal ash landfills in Tennessee (Senate Bill 2799 and House Bill 2828). The bills introduced would have modernized the landfill law to require all landfills to have plastic liners, leachate collection, and air dust control.
“The House Bill died in the Local Government Subcommittee because no member gave the sponsor the usual courtesy of seconding the motion to amend the bill so it could be heard,” said SOCM member Brian Paddock, a partially retired Jackson County lawyer who helped draft the bill and the key amendments.
Two weeks ago, several members of the Tennessee House of Representatives chose to use a political tactic and moved to adjourn without allowing a vote on the Tennessee Scenic Vistas Act, which would have prevented some forms of mountaintop removal strip mining.
By invoking an obscure parliamentary rule, the Sub-Committee closed its hearings for the year without voting either for or against the bill.
“These legislators who defend mountaintop removal mining are clueless about how this practice is ripping Tennessee apart. It will takes years, even centuries for these mountains to heal," said SOCM Strip Mine Committee Chair Cathie Bird. "As a state-wide organizing group, we are extremely disappointed in this cowardly move on the part of our legislators to protect Tennessee people and land.”
[1] TVA has plans to place around 8 million tons of coal ash each year into Tennessee landfills. http://www.tva.gov/news/releases/julsep09/ccprp_other.htm
