A new residential project in Marion County by Chattanooga developer John “Thunder” Thornton could be sitting on a “Swiss cheese” system of abandoned coal mine shafts, according to nearby residents.
Ronnie Kennedy, 68, of Whiteside, Tennessee, told Marion County commissioners in February the new River Gorge Ranch residential development atop Aetna Mountain — around 7,400 acres — was sitting atop a coal mine. Kennedy said he observed the facility’s operations for company family members in the 1980s.
Whiteside lies on the south side of the mountain. Kennedy was employed by the heir of the Pilot Coal Co. mine on Aetna Mountain to watch over operations for a few months after the owner died, he said in a follow-up phone interview. A family member gave Kennedy a box full of files, maps, documents and drawings to the mine, he said, claiming the developer turned them down when Kennedy offered to share.
Kennedy is one of several nearby residents concerned about the effect of Thornton’s development on local water, according to Paul Schafer, representative of the district on the Marion County Commission.
“That mountain is what some people call ‘Swiss cheese,'” Kennedy said. “I know about what’s up there because I’ve seen it.”