NASHVILLE – Gov. Phil Bredesen today asked the U.S. Interior Department’s Office of Surface Mining to ban coal mining on and near ridge lines on land managed for public use along the northern Cumberland Plateau.
The move was immediately attacked by the Tennessee Mining Association.
Bredesen administration officials announced the state filed a “Lands Unsuitable for Mining” petition, signed by Bredesen, with the Office of Surface Mining. In it, Bredesen asks federal officials to find publicly managed land to be unsuitable for coal surface mining within 600 feet of specified ridge lines, creating a 1,200-foot “corridor.”
Much of the 67,000 acres covered by the petition is part of Tennessee’s “Connecting the Cumberlands” conservation initiative and is located in Anderson, Campbell, Morgan and Scott counties, according to a news release.
“These lands are managed by the state of Tennessee for hunting, hiking, wildlife viewing and other outdoor recreational activities,” Bredesen said. “This petition asks the federal government to help us prevent mining on these ridgelines to protect their important cultural, recreational and scientific resources.”
Previous Bredesen-backed efforts to ban so-called “mountain-top removal” mining failed in the General Assembly in the face of strong coal industry opposition.
Areas covered by the petition include the Royal Blue, Sundquist and New River (Brimstone Tract Conservation Easement) units that comprise the North Cumberland Wildlife Management area.
The petition area also includes the Emory River Tract Conservation Easement, which is managed by Frozen Head State Park for public use. A portion of the Cumberland Trail also traverses the property.
Mining Association officials said they are “strongly opposed” to the petition, charging it represents a “property takings of mineral rights.”
TMA President Chuck Laine said in a statement that “the state of Tennessee was able to afford these properties because they only purchased the surface rights. Now they are attempting to take the mineral rights from their rightful owners without proper compensation.”
The association is reviewing the petition.