Residents speak out about coal ash proposal
Nov 10 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Heather Mullinix Crossville
Chronicle, Tenn.
Residents of Smith Mountain and Cumberland County offered impassioned
pleas to the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) Thursday, asking that it
turn down a request for a revision to the post mining land use for
Turner Mine on Smith Mountain Rd.
Bill Winters, chief of the technical team of the Knoxville Field Office,
OSM, said, "Under the Tennessee federal regulatory program, the proposal
to revise the permit to include an industrial commercial land use is
considered a significant revision."
Crossville Coal Company submitted the revision request in June in order
to continue with Smith Mountain Solutions' plans to reclaim a surface
mine on top of Smith Mountain with coal combustion ash products from
TVA.
The public comment period for the proposal began July 31, 2009, and
ended Sept. 20, though comments were taken through the end of the
meeting Thursday.
Speakers were given three minutes to have their say on the application.
More than 40 people took the microphone, and all but one was opposed to
the proposal. Steve Wright, owner of Wright Brothers Construction and a
partner in Smith Mountain Solutions, asked OSM to look at the facts when
making its decision on the application.
Wright did not respond to requests for further comments by the
Chronicle, but in an Oct. 20 guest editorial published in the
Tennessean, Wright noted TVA has not given any assurance it will accept
the site for coal ash disposal.
"Yet, we are willing to take the risk in going forward because it is the
right thing to do for the community, provides job growth, will help keep
utility rates low and is a win-win for the environment," he wrote.
He states the site would meet or exceed state and federal environmental
requirements, and noted coal ash had been used in coal mine reclamation
for years without incident, and he said the site would be operated to
ensure none of the coal ash could become airborne.
Earl Tyler, a Smith Mountain resident, said, "This has been sold to us
as a win-win proposition, which it clearly is not, unless you are one of
a couple of groups. Hillsboro group gets to get out of reclaiming the
mine. If you're Steve Wright and some of his associates, you get to make
millions if not hundreds of millions of dollars in the process. If
you're anyone else, it's a lose. The truth is, the mine must be,
according to the Office of Surface Mining, reclaimed first before there
can be any post mining land use."
Flo Hopkins, a resident of Smith Mountain, noted the coal ash disposal
proposal had changed numerous times since it was first presented to the
Cumberland County Commission. At first, it was said to be a temporary
site to take coal ash from the December 2008 spill in Kingston. Since
then, it has become a proposal for a perpetual disposal site for ongoing
coal combustion products from Kingston.
"We have been misled, and most of us know it by now," Hopkins said.
"It's not the right thing for the community. Reclamation is progressing
without any help from Steve Wright. Coal ash is not needed to reclaim
this mine."
Several speakers pointed to a recently released report from the
Environmental Protection Agency that toxic materials in coal ash, from
mercury to arsenic, can concentrate in large amounts that are discharged
to waterways or seep into groundwater.
Wright has proposed lining the site with a synthetic material and
capturing any water, leachate, for treatment. The city of Crossville
last month denied a request to treat any leachate from the site.
The EPA is considering whether coal ash should be regulated as hazardous
waste, and a decision on that is expected by the end of the year.
Currently, coal ash regulations are left up to individual states.
Several noted the Turner Mine is located in the Sewanee Coal Seam, and
the type of synthetic liner proposed had not been studied in that acidic
environment. This would also be the first coal ash disposal site in the
Sewanee Coal Seam. Speakers asked for a complete Environmental Impact
Statement to address possible environmental impacts.
Louise Gorenflo, with Cumberland Stewards, said, "The mine was never
intended to be a landfill. Under NEPA guidelines, a full EIS must be
considered to cover all the potential harm for a first of its kind coal
ash disposal facility in the Sewanee Coal Seam."
NEPA is the National Environmental Policy Act.
Traffic was another concern. Smith Mountain Road is a narrow, winding
road, residents said. They worry about numerous trucks traveling up and
down the road several times a day.
Tina Nicholson said she walks along the driveway of her home at 10 to 4
p.m. every day to meet her two children as they get off the school bus.
If the group wants to walk down the road to look at herbs or enjoy the
afternoon, she said they often have to jump into the ditch to avoid
truck traffic.
"Two regular cars cannot pass each other on this road as it is," she
said.
Smith Mountain Solutions has agreed to make safety improvements to the
road and enforce low speed limits through GPS tracking.
Robert Safdie, 2nd District commissioner, attended the meeting and spoke
briefly, noting he was in a difficult position since the commission was
being sued by residents of Smith Mountain and one business.
Safdie spoke after two hours of comments, saying, "I conclude from this
discussion tonight there are more questions that have to be answered."
OSM personnel conducted a site visit Oct. 27, following requests during
the comment period.
With all comments gathered for the proposal, OSM personnel will begin
reviewing the permits and testimony and other applicable documents
before issuing a decision. Winters said OSM was in the early stages of
the technical review and it would take time to reach a decision.
If approved, the project still must be approved by the Tennessee
Department of Environment and Conservation and public hearings will be
required before the project could continue.
(c) 2009,
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
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