Groups petition to stop surface mining in New River Basin

November 17, 2005

KNOXVILLE — A petition filed by a pair of environmental groups Thursday seeks to stop coal mining in the New River watershed.

The National Parks Conservation Association and the Warioto Chapter of the National Audobon Society filed a Lands Unsuitable for Mining petition with the federal Office of Surface Mining (OSM) as a way to protect water quality in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.

The petition will force OSM to put on hold the further issuance of mining permits in the area in question by the petition — which covers some 400 square miles in Scott, Campbell, Anderson and Morgan counties — while a study of surface mining’s implications in the territory are studied and an impact statement is developed.

“We’ve got two central issues that we’re raising,” Don Barger, regional director of the National Parks Conservation Association, said. “One, the Audobon Society is really concerned about the Cerulean warbler (an endangered migratory songbird) habitat, which is in the peaks of those mountains that are subject to mountaintop removal. Our concern is with the Big South Fork. The New River, of course, is a principal watershed for the Big South Fork.”

Once OSM has concluded its study, it has the option of declaring the entire area in question unsuitable for mining, declaring none of it unsuitable for mining, declaring parts of it unsuitable for mining, or declaring the land unsuitable for some mining practices but suitable for others.

Even in the event that OSM were to declare the land unsuitable for surface mining, the decision would not affect four mines that are already in operation in the New River watershed, or the permits for two surface mines that have already been issued to National Coal Corporation but that are not yet in operation.

Among the allegations included in the petition are:

• That surface mining on steep slopes found throughout the area in question increase the likelihood of landslides and “catastrophic structural failures.” Reclamation, the petition claims, cannot prevent those threats;

• It is impossible to reclaim areas of dense forests in the petition area;

• Sediment and acid mine drainage from surface mining operations within the New River watershed are carried downstream and negatively impact the Big South Fork NRRA. Other parklands that could be impacted, the petition claims, are 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;

• Surface mining would destroy vital habitat for numerous endangered, threatened and sensitive species that exist in or downstream of the petition area. Among those species are five endangered species of mussels, five threatened or endangered fish species and seven priority migratory songbird species;

• Surface mining operations would be incompatible with numerous existing land use plans that govern and set goals for usage of lands within and downstream of the petition area; and,

• Surface mining would likely result in a substantial loss or reduction of long-range productivity of the local water supply for Huntsville.

“What this thing does is say we need a cumulative look at the entire watershed,” Barger said. “It simply says before we allow large-scale mining in that area, we need to look at whether we can do it successfully and what the cumulative effect will be on the Big South Fork and on the recreation area, on wildlife, hunting, on offroad-vehicle access, on people hiking on the Cumberland Trail . . . we want to make sure that before we go into large-scale mining in the area, the area will still be suitable for other purposes, such as recreational hunting and other aspects.

“It’s basically a look before you leap provision,” Barger added. “If we’re going to protect the Big South Fork, if we’re going to protect the Huntsville water supply, if we’re going to protect the species and the wildlife management areas, you have to look at the watershed realistically.”

Barger said he anticipates that OSM’s study could take more than one year to complete, given the size of the area, which is among the largest areas to ever be considered for a mining ban.

newsroom@ihoneida.com

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