I’ve written Governor Bredesen and my other TN representatives opposing MTR. I’m proud to say that our Clarksville Senator, Rosalind Kurita, was ranked as one of the top three Tennessee senators for her voting record on protecting the environment. If you’d like to know how other Tennessee legislators voted on environmental issues in 2008 see http://www.tnconservationvoters.org/.

I first heard about MTR around 6 years ago from Dr. Joe Schiller, a Biology professor at APSU. He’s been educating people about this horrific practice and battling against it for many years. I’ve seen video and pictures of MTR but this will be the 1st time I’ll actually see this destruction in person. I’m a member of Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM) and other organizations which oppose MTR.

United Mountain Defense, Mountain Justice and Three Rivers Earth First! ask you to march with us for Appalachia. This is a call from the Mountains of Tennessee to those who understand the value of a living forest, clean water and a place to call home. This is a call for you to take a Sunday out of your life to help preserve some of the oldest mountains on Earth.

National Coal is blowing up the three peaks of Zeb Mountain for the coal beneath even though there are other methods of mining that are less destructive and at the same time create more jobs for local residents. National Coal has a terrible record of over 50 violations on Zeb Mountain – including illegally mining through two streams. National Coal has wrecked the watershed of Zeb Mountain – and the New River Watershed is next if we don ’t stop them. There’s a story on Channel 5’s web site detailing some of these issues.

Email call (865) 689-2778 for more information. If you’d like to carpool with some other Clarksvillians, contact me at .

We felt pretty helpless and uncounted in our seats watching the hearings since neither bill we supported was even voted on in committee. However, we could tell that phone calls and emails to Senators and Representatives really have an impact on what happens in session.

While visiting our Clarksville Senator co-sponsoring this bill, Rosalind Kurita, she reminded us that Senators and Representatives have a rough and winding road to get bills passed – enduring frequent delays and other obstacles. Experience is critical to getting things done within this system. Senator Kurita was enthusiastic when she told us about her role on the Governor’s new task force to develop a Tennessee Comprehensive Energy Policy.

We also met with our Representative, Joe Pitts. “How are our issues doing?” asked Rep. Pitts as he took time out of his busy schedule to say hello and take a picture with Rossview High School students, Faith Robinson and Nicole Donnelly.

*SB 3822 Finney R.: Issuance of permits for surface mining.

This bill prohibits the department of environment and conservation from issuing permits related to surface mining until a new programmatic environmental impact statement (EIS) addressing direct and indirect site specific and cumulative impacts is completed and a record of decision is published in the Federal Register by the office of surface mining.

Recommended action: Support this bill, attend the committee hearing. This bill would stop mountain top removal in Tennessee.

The Senate committee did not vote on 4/2/08 and re-scheduled the hearing for 4/9/08. Unfortunately, a House subcommittee voted to kill the bill and adjourned for the year. Therefore, this bill cannot be passed this year. However, let the Senators know your views because it will probably resurface next year.

As far as the action in the House, here are the votes for and against the bill. Legislators voting for the bill were Reps. Frank Buck, D-Dowelltown; Brenda Gilmore, D-Nashville; and Mike Kernell, D-Memphis.

Those voting no were Reps. William Baird, R-Jacksboro; George Fraley, D-Winchester; Joe McCord, R-Maryville; Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains; and John Tidwell, D-New Johnsonville.

Some of this information was obtained from Knoxnews.com

The Senate met to discuss the same bill.

Senate Environment, Conservation & Tourism Committee members: Chair Kilby (D), Vice Chair Bunch (R), Secretary Jackson (D), R. Finney (R), Herron (D), Ketron (R), Roller (D), Southerland (R), M. Williams (I).

Senator Kilby, Chair, wanted to drop this bill several times but Senator Finney and Jackson argued successfully to put the bill back on the calendar for next week. They had to force the issue. Senator Bunch wanted to delay the vote for further study about the fiscal impact.

Debbie Boen overheard Senator Kilby telling someone in the hallway after session that he tried and tried and tried to kill it, but they wouldn’t let him. That’s how it went. We heard expert testimony to the effect that there is no agency or law that determines exactly how mountain top removal will be regulated and by whom.

Please thank Senators Finney and Jackson for insisting on taking action on this bill. Thank chair Tommy Kilby and Senator Bunch for taking the issue seriously at this time. Let him know that this is a very important issue to us and Tennessee and we want the Senate to lead our state in saving our mountains.

Bottle deposit bill

The other bill we were most interested in supporting, the bottle deposit bill, was put off for a week because there was no time to hear the case. Container deposit bills change behavior and are the single most effective tool yet devised to significantly and permanently reduce litter—more effective than curbside recycling, more effective than penalties, more effective than education programs, and certainly more effective than prisoner pickup programs.

Senate Government Operations — Wednesday at 2:00 pm
MEMBERS: Chair Harper (D), Vice Chair Marrero (D), Secretary O. Ford (D), Bunch (R), Crowe (R), J. Johnson (R), Stanley (R), Watson (R), Williams (I).

*SB 1408 Jackson: TN Deposit Beverage Container Act of 2007 (AKA the Bottle Bill). Requires deposit beverage distributors to pay a fee to the department a fee of one-half of one cent (increasing to three cents by July 2008) per deposit container and a separate deposit of 5 cents on each beverage in a deposit container manufactured in or imported to the state.

Recommended action: Support this bill, attend committee meeting.

SB 1408/HB 1829 creates the TN Beverage Container Act to increase recycling rates and reduce litter. This bill would place a refundable deposit on containers of beer, soda and other designated beverages. A large, nonpartisan coalition of organizations, including the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs, Cumberland Harpeth Chapter of the Audubon Society, Scenic Tennessee, TN Conservation Voters, Tennessee Scenic Rivers, Loudon County Commission, Maury County Commission, Maury County Farm Bureau, Lebanon Beautification Board, Davy Crockett Ruritan District, Trout Unlimited, Keep Bristol Beautiful, Kiwanis Club of Tellico Village, Recycle Rutherford, Boone Watershed Partnership, League of Women Voters of Tennessee and Tennessee Sierra Club support this legislation because:

• A recent survey conducted by UT in which registered voters were asked if they would support a 5-cent refundable deposit on beverage containers as a way to reduce litter and increase recycling rates in Tennessee. An amazing 80.4 % of those polled said they would support such a bill–with almost half saying they would support it.
• Improved recycling rates generate lower landfill costs. Many Tennessee counties currently pay in excess of $30/ton to landfill solid wastes.
• In 2005, Tennessee was found to generate a total of almost 4 pounds of litter per person per year in Tennessee. In Maine, the state whose bottle bill most closely resembles the one we propose for Tennessee, the total litter generated per person was 4 ounces of litter per year.
• TDOT is spending $5 – 6 million per year picking up trash along state roadways. Counties are spending up to $6.5 million per year on litter collection and cities are spending millions to pick up litter on their streets.

We need a new strategy.

Numerous surveys have found that in states without a bottle bill, beverage containers can make up the single largest category of roadside litter—typically 40 to 60 percent of the total Funds generated from unclaimed deposits are earmarked for continued funding of the county litter grants program.

In addition, it allots funds to reimburse counties or any lost tax revenue under the proposed change to the “greenbelt law.” Fifty percent of what is left will go to the distributors in the same proportion as they paid deposits in the first place; and the rest will be used for related purposes, such as litter control or recycling projects

States that tracked litter pre- and post-bottle bill reported a decrease in beverage container litter of as much as 84 percent , while overall litter decreased by as much as 64 percent . Container recycling rates increased from 10 % to 85% of containers sold and overall recycling rates in bottle bill states are an average of 30-35% compared to 10% in Tennessee.

Related links

• TN Scenic Vistas (TN Sierra Club)
• National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
• Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM)