Zeb Mountain Selenium and Stream Buffer Zone Rules

Is there a connection?

Two important news events recently exploded at about the same time here in the east Tennessee coalfields. On October 7th, Save Our Cumberland Mountains -- coordinating with other groups in Appalachia -- released our SOS 2008 action alert to save our streams from ill-concieved changes to stream buffer zone and fill rules under the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). Then, on October 10th, SOCM, Tennessee Clean Water Networkand the Sierra Clubfiled a lawsuit against National Coal Corporation for illegal discharge of selenium into streams flowing from their Zeb Mountain Mine in Campbell County.

The chain that locks local selenium pollution and national stream buffer zone and fill rules into the same dirty coal closet is mountaintop removal mining. Buffer zones and fill rules were supposed to keep mining equipment and mine waste out of America's headwaters. The problem is that when you allow mining companies to dismember mountains from the top down, and change the definition of fill to exclude mine waste, you might as well toss SMCRA into the recycle box. Many of the smallest and most vulnerable streams, creeks, springs, bogs and seeps do not even qualify as waters to be protected from mountaintop removal. These headwaters often get buried under tons of waste that used to be banned from streams before the reign of the Resource-Wrecker-in-Chief.

Over the past few years, we in Tennessee have shared the worry with grassroots coalfield groups in West Virginia about toxic levels of selenium in streams draining mountaintop mining sites, especially those below valley fills. We were very discouraged when excess selenium showed up in 3 streams at the Zeb mine here in Tennessee. Like our counterparts in West Virginia, we're going to follow every legitimate avenue we have to hold perpetrators of dangerous selenium pollution accountable. We're glad to have the legal expertise of the Appalachian Centerfor Economy and Environment and Sierra Club behind us.

I wrote an articleon the Zeb selenium suit that you can check out at OpEd News. If you're signed up with Digg, Facebook or any other networking site, please help us get the word out by rating or sharing this article. All the people, birds and little fishies that live near Zeb will be grateful.

You can also help out with the buffer zone and fill rule debacle by e-mailing Administrator Stephen Johnson at the EPA. The EPA must give its approval before the rule becomes official. Click here to take action, or here to get more informationon the rule change.