Pam's Points: We're not ferguson, and state isn't a third-world country

On protests and problem solving

Four people were arrested Wednesday night while protesting street violence and police brutality at the intersection of Main and Market streets in Chattanooga. About a dozen protesters were marching with Concerned Citizens for Justice as part of a national day of protests, and they were arrested when they entered the intersection and blocked traffic, the group said on its Facebook page.

Ash-Lee Henderson, 29, Janelle Jackson, 34, Michael Heath, 22, and Madison Dillard, 20, were charged with inciting to riot and obstructing a highway after they declined to clear the road when police asked them to, according of officers. Police said the arrests transpired "without major incident."

Is this Ferguson? No. Is protest a legal and reasonable way to point to a need for community dialogues about race relations, justice and other issues here and elsewhere? Yes.

The protest has served its purpose: It has gotten attention. Now let's move the conversation forward and start the dialogue. Because this is Chattanooga, not Ferguson.

Coal mines OK is a step back

Tennessee and federal officials have cleared the way for deep mine operations in Rhea County, Tenn., to begin extracting coal again from Dayton Mountain.

It's a step backward for residents of Dayton and Rhea County, where coal once was king in decades past. But that day is thankfully gone. Most Appalachia coal does not burn cleanly or cheaply enough for use in the U.S., so this coal would be marketed to China, according to officials with Dayton, Tenn.-based Iron Properties LLC.

This week, more than two years after a touchy public hearing about the mining plan in 2012, officials said the 127-acre Liberty Mine, the larger of the two mining sites, could be in operation by 2017 and initially employ a little less than 100 people -- just a third of the 300 jobs initially touted by the company.

Most residents in 2012 expressed concerns about the impact of deep mining on groundwater and wells, toxic stormwater runoff and the impact of coal truck traffic on rural roads.

But regulatory agencies found that the company's plans for Liberty meet environmental requirements, and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits were issued by TDEC on Oct. 8 for the Liberty Mine and Security Mine, while federal permitting from the Office of Surface Mining is still being sought for the smaller Security Mine site, according to Dave Fortner, partner in Iron Properties.

Forter says the world coal market is down and Iron Properties is hoping for improvement down the road as the primary mine is developed and readied for opening.

Opponents of the mine told Times Free Press reporter Ben Benton that they are eyeing the same market trends.

"Although we are disappointed that state and federal regulators have allowed these mines to proceed, we are optimistic that market forces might slow down or stop the mining," Tennessee Clean Water Network attorney Stephanie Durman Matheny said Wednesday. "Natural gas is out-competing coal as an energy source nationwide, and Tennessee is no exception."

Somebody forgot to tell TDEC and the Office of Surface Mining, which theoretically weigh the costs and benefits -- social, environmental and fiscal -- of using our environment like that of a Third World country.

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