Clinch Conservation

Clinch Conservation

The Impact of Coal on the Clinch

by Cynthia Sellers
© March 28, 2008

East Tennessee's Natural Treasure

The Clinch River Valley has been named “One of the Last Great Places on Earth” by The Nature Conservancy because of its unusually high level of biodiversity of aquatic species.¹ Clinch-Powell RC&D Director, Lindy Turner, has described the Upper Clinch as “a living museum” of all manner of species, some of which can be found nowhere else on earth, have already gone extinct elsewhere, or cannot be found elsewhere in this concentration of diversity. ²

The 850-acre Kyles Ford Preserve in Hancock County, Tennessee was created in an effort to protect and preserve the endangered species of freshwater mussels and fish inhabiting the Upper Clinch River.³  If the Clinch River were to become polluted, it would have a major impact on the region—not just the environment and animal inhabitants but the local people would suffer...possibly in health, definitely in quality of life.

Today, the aquatic inhabitants of the Clinch and Powell rivers are in trouble.  The Powell has already lost many species due to toxins poisoning the water so that many scientists have already written it off as past the point of recovery.⁴ Now the Clinch has begun to exhibit the early symptoms of ecological peril as well and has been declared a threatened water by the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC).⁵

Researchers, conservationists, and interstate conservation agencies have been organizing and coordinating resources in order to preserve and protect the Clinch River and its inhabitants, recently contracting a Memorandum of Understanding to restore the Clinch and Powell Rivers.⁶  Over the past decade, with the coordinating assistance of The Nature Conservancy, they've purchased tracts of land, created bioreserves along the Clinch river such as the Kyles Ford Mussel Preserve in Tennessee and several in Virginia and hope to someday close the gap between the two, consolidating them into the Clinch Valley Bioreserve. ⁷

At the Kyles Ford Preserve in Tennessee, the Clinch Powell RC&D works with The Nature Conservancy's Clinch Valley Program and other agencies and groups to address any threats to Clinch River's water quality and species in the local area.  They've taken a practical and sustainable approach intended to benefit not only the environment but the communities under their watch.  They've assisted in efforts to update agricultural equipment and practices that maintain or improve soil and water quality.⁸ To help fund Kyles Ford Preserve restoration efforts, Clinch Powell RC&D has developed an ecotourism facility called River Place on the Clinch [www.riverplaceontheclinch.com] to generate interest and awareness of the Kyles Ford Preserve and the recreational opportunities provided by the Upper Clinch River in this remote, often forgotten rural area.⁹

A Major Challenge to Restoring the Clinch

As to the larger picture, while The Nature Conservancy and partnering organizations attempt to conjoin and expand the protected areas in Tennessee and Virginia, a major challenge to cleaning up the river for decades occurs farther upstream—the overall top polluting power plant in Virginia, American Electric Power's aging Clinch River Power Plant¹⁰ and accompanying mining operations.

How Coal Can Hurt the Region’s Ecosystem

Emissions from coal-fired power plants pollute the air and water in the Southern Appalachian region with lasting and at times, fatal harm to local plant, animal, and human health. ¹¹ Among other toxins, the emissions are a source of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides (acid rain) that damage Appalachian forests and result in toxic storm water runoff into waters bodies throughout the region. ¹²

Turner said, “Spills and overflows are the biggest culprits from coal.  The coal fines slowly creep downriver further and further with each flood event.  As the water slows, the coal fines settle to the river bottom turning it black and smothering the filter feeding mussels.  That is why they are so sensitive.  Long, long after a spill, the devastation continues downstream.”

Coal Pros and Cons

Coal-fired power plants already produce 52% of our nation's energy¹³ but they are also the #1 energy contributor to climate warming because coal combustion produces carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases.¹⁴

It's not just about keeping the lights on, let's face it, coal means money.  Big money.  Coal has brought jobs where jobs are badly needed.  Despite the worldwide concern over Global Warming, coal is here to stay for the indefinite future.  “Clean Coal” is now the promise from politicians and their industry backers.¹⁵  They're promising cleaner start-up plants but they're not making similar promises regarding coal mining. In fact, as recently as last year the Office of Surface Mining pushed legislation that would loosen restrictions regarding dumping mining debris into the ecologically sensitive headwater streams near mining operations.¹⁶ These proposed changes include the headwater streams of the Clinch and Powell rivers as well as all waters in the United States.¹⁷

In addition to existing environmental stressors, the Clinch and Powell rivers also face the possibility of a new coal-fired power plant along the Clinch, just a county over from the present one. ¹⁸ There are currently 38 active mining operations in the Upper Clinch Watershed and 48 in the Upper Powell Watershed. The new power plant will provide new jobs but the increase in coal mining may put more stress on imperiled species in the Clinch and Powell rivers. ¹⁹

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) sheds light on the relationship between coal mining and the Endangered Species Act:

“The Endangered Species Act is designed to identify and save at-risk wildlife to best ensure a healthy environment. To achieve this, federal agencies must consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to carefully evaluate environmental impacts to protected species before undertaking or permitting significant action, such as coal mining.

Instead of following this protocol, the FWS in 1996, at the request of the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), which regulates coal mining, issued a one-size-fits-all “biological opinion” that no coal mining operation anywhere in the U.S. would ever harm threatened or endangered species listed then, or in the future. FWS summarily concluded that the requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act provided sufficient protection. Because of this opinion, neither FWS, OSM, nor the mine operators are required to assess or avoid the impacts of mining on protected species or critical habitat.

...SELC, representing the Center for Biological Diversity, National Parks Conservation Association, and World Wildlife Fund, has filed a petition urging the FWS to revoke its 1996 opinion. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is also a petitioner, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has supported our petition with a letter to FWS.”²⁰

Mussel Populations are Declining.
How Can We Cooperate To Improve the Odds of Their Survival?

If the FWS, OSM, and the mine operators are not assessing the impact of their mining practices, nor attempting to avoid harming protected species or critical habitat, this undermines confidence in the biological opinion that endangered species are not and nor will they ever be impacted.  Too much is at stake to not do everything at our disposal to diagnose problems if they exist, in order to ensure the continuance of these rare and unique species in our care. 

Freshwater mussels such as are found here at the Kyles Ford Preserve are the harbingers of an aquatic ecosystem.  Once they go, other species are sure to follow.

With cutting-edge technologies allowing for the possibility of cleaner coal power in Appalachia’s energy future, perhaps it’s time for the Office of Surface Mining to demonstrate its long-term commitment to environmental stewardship. By working with conservationists and regulatory agencies to continuously ensure negligible impact to “One of the Last Great Places.”

Concerned citizens are joining with the state of Tennessee and other action groups in asking the FWS to recant the 1996 “biological opinion” that no coal mining operation anywhere in the U.S. would ever harm threatened or endangered species listed then, or in the future. ²¹

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