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People working together for social, economic and environmental justice in Tennessee
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South Cumberland Chapter
Van Buren and Sequatchie Tennessee Counties
For information about times and places of the meetings of this SOCM chapter
please check the CONTACTS page
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Current Work:
The South Cumberland Chapter is currently
communicating with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and the
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) about the Toxic
Material Handling Plan for pyrite on Highway 111 in Van Buren County.
Unearthed two years ago during road construction, the pyrite was recently
buried without any local citizen knowledge. The chapter members are
concerned because pyrite, or iron sulfide, becomes toxic
when exposed to oxygen and water and, if leaked, could affect the Rocky River, Dry Fork Creek and
Fall Creek Falls watersheds, and the water resources of the Piney
Community. An area resident and SOCM member says she knows the danger of
pyrite. “I definitely think the public should have been notified, and
sometimes it’s too late to go back.”
The chapter ultimately desires that TDOT hold a public meeting on the
issue. Members are meeting with TDOT and TDEC officials to express
their desire for a public meeting and their own concerns about the
monitoring of the buried pyrite.
The chapter has been active in opposing the
wastewater permit proposed by the city of Spencer in Van Buren County. The
permit, if approved, would allow the city to apply the first direct
discharges into what is called “the greatest fishing hole in America”.
At a public
hearing in July 2006, chapter members submitted 110 pages of written comments for public record and TDEC
review. Chapter member Landon Medley testified,
“The
chapter believes that our past seven years of supporting some type of
reasonable alternatives such as a type of land application or constructed
wetlands will have less human and environment impacts and will be less
costly than the proposed action of directly discharging into Tier 2
streams.” Medley was thanked for his testimony
and the full room of
participants gave him standing
applause. The chapter has not received a letter from TDEC yet stating
whether the permit has been approved or denied.
The chapter is monitoring Skyline Coal
Company’s importation of human waste from Chattanooga. Skyline is importing
this waste in an attempt to reclaim mine lands, claiming that the sludge
will regenerate the soil for tree growth. Skyline did not have to file for
a permit because it is working with TDEC on this experiment. The chapter is
concerned that the waste will leak into a Native American burial ground and
Big Branch Creek, two of the community’s most valued assets.
The chapter is working to report
violations of Tennessee water quality laws that have resulted from
individuals and companies dredging creek beds for rock.
Dredging creeks results in increased risk for flooding and can affect the habitat of aquatic life.
In addition, Chapter members actively support SOCM organization-wide campaigns, with Chapter members involved in the Stripmine, Toxics, and Forestry Committees.
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What you can do:
• Report dredging of creeks for rock in Sequatchie & Van Buren counties to: Tennessee Department of Conservation (TDEC) 423-634-5745.
Please include information on the exact site on the creek where the rock is being removed.
• For more information about the chapter's meeting times and place see CONTACTS page.
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History/ Past Accomplishments:
In the mid-late seventies, residents in Van
Buren and Sequatchie Counties mounted an all-out, three year, successful
effort to keep AMAX Coal Company from getting a permit to strip mine 10,000
acres in the toxic Sewanee coal seam. This strip mine would have included
mining through three streams. With the experience of this successful
campaign, they formed the South Cumberland Chapter which continues to deal
with new threats on the plateau.
Members were able to stop
plans for an unnecessary 119,000 acre National Guard Training Center, saving
hundreds of homes, nursery farms, and the quiet serenity of the Cumberland
Plateau. This SOCM victory also eliminated a potential expenditure of $250
million in federal funds.
During 1999 and 2000, the
chapter worked to pass resolutions in Van Buren, Sequatchie, and Warren
Counties supporting SOCM’s Abandoned Mine Lands Campaign which would release
millions of dollars to Tennessee to clean up abandoned coal mines.
In 2005, the chapter
prevented Waste Industries from locating a new landfill in an abandoned
strip mine in Van Buren County. The chapter opposed the location of the
landfill for health and safety reasons. A high water table and artesian
springs made the site a poor geological location for a landfill.
Furthermore, the State of Tennessee had denied an application to locate a
landfill on the same property only two decades prior to the last
application.
In 2005 the South Cumberland Chapter also
helped Van Buren County create a successful recycling program!
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Members enjoy the outdoors while raising money for SOCM
in the Chapter's annual canoe-a-thon.
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