Mountaintop removal coal mining continues in Tennessee as the bill to ban it did not make it to the House or Senate to be voted on this year. However, Sen. Doug Jackson, a Democrat from Dickson, said just because the legislation did not pass this year, does not mean it will not pass next year. Some say the removal should continue in order to save jobs while others argue it should be banned to protect people and the environment.

The Scenic Vistas Protection Act was proposed to further prevent Tennessee’s mountains from becoming as destructed as those in Kentucky and West Virginia. The reason for the bill is not just concern for the destruction of mountains but the fear for what this destruction does to the environment and people’s health.

“It’s not just about aesthetics, it’s about pollution,” said Jackson.

When mountaintops are removed to get coal, toxic waste pollutes the streams and rivers below. Selenium, which is harmful to humans and animals in large amounts, not only leaks into the streams and rivers but also into underground water tables, said Jackson. This pollutes the water, he said.

However, the banning of mountaintop removal would result in a substantial loss of jobs, said Sen. Mike Faulk, a Republican from Claiborne. Faulk said around 400 jobs would be lost in addition to the jobs that would be lost from coal mining-related jobs such as trucking companies.

“It is good for the environment but bad for thousands of people,” Faulk said.

“It is unthinkable to lose that many jobs.”

Claiborne County, south of Cumberland Gap, is experiencing the effects of mountaintop removal. Nearby communities have to be aware of the dangerous blasting of mountains, the floods that might occur as a result, and the risk of sludge dams which can cause toxic coal to contaminate drinking water, according to Appalachian Voices, a group that works to solve environmental problems.

Faulk said that one of the main reasons he would vote against the bill is because of the effect it would have on Claiborne County’s school systems. Due to the negative impacts it would have on the economy and job loss, their school systems would have to eliminate all sports programs, he said.

“I love these mountains and it is a practice that I would rather not have to do,” Faulk said.

Sen. Steve Southerland, a Republican from Morristown, who has not taken a side on the issue, said that his job as committee chairman was to sit back and listen to both sides. He said he has to be neutral, kind of like a referee.

While coal-mining jobs are important, some believe they are worth losing for the sake of sustaining a healthy environment for future generations.

“We have a chance now of stopping what is a time bomb,” Jackson said.

Jackson said that all jobs are important but the long-term effects of mountaintop removal will make these poor counties even poorer. The issue is beyond the destruction of mountains, it’s the decades of dangerous pollutants that will negatively effect future generations, he said.

“I can assure you that the counties will see a net loss as a result of this,” Jackson said. “Would you want to move to a county with polluted water?”

Faulk said that the removal in Claiborne County was so remote that most people do not see it. On the other hand, Jackson said that if this were happening in a bigger place like Germantown in Memphis, it would cause uproar and be stopped immediately.

If mountaintops are removed, coal companies must reclaim the mountain, but the vegetation of the mountains can never function the same, Jackson said. He said the forests can be rebuilt but it is still not the same thing, no matter what coal companies say.

“You don’t have complex forests any longer,” said Jackson.

Author