A Republican sponsored bill (HB 1204 / SB 1331) that would have allowed the coal industry to pollute Tennessee’s waterways narrowly failed in the state House today 49 - 42. The bill’s House sponsor says he is not sure if he’ll try to refile the bill.
Rep. Joe McCord (R-8) admitted today on the House floor that the bill was written and given to him to sponsor by the coal industry. The bill would have allowed selenium levels from coal production to reach unacceptable levels (7.5 ppm) in Tennessee lakes, rivers and streams. Watch this video to see what selenium waste has done to aquatic life.
Rep. McCord and several of his Republican colleagues repeatedly claimed the bill would bring Tennessee up to the latest EPA standards for selenium levels in U.S. waterways. The EPA, however, never adopted the proposal which Republicans falsely claimed were the latest standards.
Furthermore, the scientist who helped draft the 2004 proposal for the EPA on selenium levels has since reported that his findings were wrong and that the bill as written would in fact kill nearly 80% of fish in Tennessee waterways, one reason the proposal was rejected by the Bush Administration’s EPA in the first place.
Despite these facts, Tennessee Republicans persisted on behalf of the coal industry, including those representing Rutherford County.
The audacity of Tennessee Republicans to pass off junk science and misrepresent the truth in the state legislature as the basis of their support for poisoning Tennessee waterways is embarrassing and immoral.
Tennesseans are called upon to be good stewards of God’s creation and to protect it for generations to come. Tennessee Republicans demonstrated today yet again whose side they are on when it comes to that calling. Tennessee Republicans sided with the interests of the coal industry over protecting our environment and our great state’s cultural heritage of hunting and fishing.
Here is how our state’s delegation voted on the selenium bill:
- Rep. Donna Rowland (R-34) - YES
- Rep. Joe Car (R-48) - PRESENT
- Sen. Bill Ketron (R-13) - YES
- Sen. Jim Tracy (R-16) - YES
- Rep. Kent Coleman (D-49) - NO
- Rep. Curt Cobb (D-62) - NO
Why should anyone not be surprised with the fact that Republicans continually vote for Corporations and with their lobbyists not for working people.
I wonder how Rutherford County’s hunters and fisherman will view their Republican legislators voting like this. Has anybody emailed this to all those groups?
This should be some good ammunition for 2010.
United Coal Company –> John M. Gregory –> TNGA Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey
Tennessee Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey is apparently O.K. with destroying mountain ranges all across Tennessee, Virginia, and West Vriginia - my question about Ramsey is how does United Coal Company (now headquartered in Bristol,Tennessee) now figure into mountain top coal removal of U.S. coal reserves for export (and not necessarily all for U.S. energy requirements) to the former republics of the Soviet Union?:
Airborne particle pollution from coal: why Tennessee is a “red state” (December 2, 2008)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=179×4455
Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey at May 2008 Keynote Session of ECC conference and exposition (Kingsport, Tennessee; 404 Not Found)
http://www.easterncoalcouncil.com/2008_Conf_Prog_MAY_2.pdf
Eastern Coal Council
News Release #1 September 9, 2009 - ECC Celebrates 31st Annual Conference (2010)
http://www.easterncoalcouncil.com/2010-Documents/NEWS-RELEASE-1.pdf
“The EASTERN COAL COUNCIL is a membership organization of industries, businesses, educators, and [b]elected officials[/b] who have joined together for the purpose of promoting coal.”
“The Eastern Coal Council’s 31st annual conference and exposition will be held May 24 & 25, 2010. The meeting will be at the Meadowview Convention Center, Kingsport TN. Limited exhibit space is available. Register today for this important meeting.”
[b]Wealthiest man in Europe buys United Coal Co.[/b]
http://www.themountaineagle.com/news/2009-05-06/Front_Page/Wealthiest_man_in_Europe_buys_United_Coal_Co.html
United Coal Company - Wikipedia[
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Coal_Company
"United Coal Company (UCC), a nonunion coal mining company headquartered in Teays Valley, West Virginia, is a leading producer of high grade metallurgical coals, with operations in Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky and a subsidiary of the United Management Company, headquartered at Bristol, Virginia.
In May 2009 Ukrainian business group Metinvest purchased the company for an estimated $1 billion [1].
United in 2006 allowed former King Pharmaceuticals executives John M. Gregory and Joseph “Joe” Gregory of Bristol, Tennessee and of SJ Investments, LLC and Gregory Energy Partners, LLC to invest in the company. The Gregory brothers are its first investors outside the McGlothlin family.[2]
Executives of the company are listed among the contributors to the United Company Political Action Committee.”