Action Alert! Tell TVA to vote for clean energy solutions
In August, TVA's board of directors will make the final decision whether to approve a plan that transitions the Valley to modern, affordable clean energy or keeps us stuck with dirty fossil fuels.Tell TVA's board of directors to vote for clean energy solutions!
For the last year, the Sierra Club and our supporters have engaged in TVA's long-term energy planning process, which will determine how TVA produces our electricity for the next 20 years. Our folks submitted over 1,000 comments and packed TVA meetings across the Valley this spring to ask TVA for a plan that slashes dangerous climate pollution by moving away from fossil fuels.
Our advocacy over the past year convinced TVA to take another look at its ability to invest more in clean energy, especially solar and battery storage. And guess what? TVA found it can invest in clean energy technologies, phase out more fossil fuels, protect our environment, and create a more flexible electric grid, at no additional cost to customers.1
TVA settles suit with State of Tennessee to remove coal ash from Gallatin plant
By Adrian Mojica, FOX 17 News Nashville
A lawsuit by the State of Tennessee against the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) over coal ash removal at the Gallatin Plant has come to a conclusion.
Filed in 2015 accusing the TVA of violating the Solid Waste Disposal Act and Water Quality Control Act, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation alleged the violations were related to how the TVA handled ash ponds at the site.
A settlement reached by the two parties will require TVA to remove 12 million cubic yards of coal combustion residuals from active coal ash ponds located at the Gallatin Fossil Plant. The TVA will have to then fix the ponds and have the excavated material placed in a lined, permitted landfill or recycled for reuse in concrete or other construction materials.
The Chattanooga Airport completes the final phase of its solar farm as they celebrate a renewable energy milestone. On 12 acres at the southwest corner of the airfield sits Chattanooga Airport’s solar farm.
On Wednesday, Terry Hart, the airport president and CEO, city leaders and others gathered to celebrate the completion of the final phase of its solar farm. “Across the country airports are always thought of as ones that are not very green or very friendly to the environment and we feel that this is important for us.. to give back to the community and be that green leader in the airport world,” Hart said.
The power generated is equal to the airport’s total energy needs. It’s the only airport in the country to achieve this renewable energy goal. "We were the first airport that the FAA had funded projects like this. Since that time more airports have been making that happen. We are seeing that take place across the country,” Hart said.
Renewable energy [that] the 2.64-megawatt solar farm generates is sold through partnership with EPB and TVA. “With our partnership with TVA, we sell the green power to them. The revenue that we receive from TVA helps offset our costs here at the airport, which is good for the customers because that allows us to keep our fees down, which is good for everyone,” Hart said.
This three phase project is eight years in the making. The airport’s first phase of the project started in 2011.
Aerial view of solar farm, located on 12 acres in the southwest corner of the airfield in an area unusable for aviation purposes. Photo from www.chattairport.com/solar-farm
Rocky Fork State Park Road seemingly on hold for now
Good news from Rocky Fork: the wildflowers have been great, the fireflies are coming out, and the unofficial word from state officials is the Flint Mountain road project is “on hold.”
In spite of the fact that TDEC is officially still waiting for the permits required to begin building a road through Rocky Fork, and that road opponents were led to believe there would be additional discussion and public input, on May 6 we went into the park to discover a group of engineers preparing to “start clearing the road right-of-way.”
Southern states troubled by criminal enforcement drawdown
By Sylvia Carignan, published June 11, 2019 for Bloomberg Environment
Mississippi and Tennessee authorities say the EPA’s push for partnership with states and environmental compliance has left criminal enforcement in question.
The Environmental Protection Agency is “pivoting from enforcement to compliance,” Leif Palmer, regional counsel for the agency’s Region 4 office, which covers the southeast U.S., said at an American Bar Association conference in Atlanta on June 11. At the same time, the agency is prioritizing its partnerships with state environmental authorities under the term “cooperative federalism.”
One of the areas where states need federal cooperation is criminal enforcement, Donna Hodges, an attorney with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, said at the conference. “We can’t go out and just arrest somebody.”
Learn about the new trail planned for the Cedars of Lebanon!
Conveniently, our July Chapter Meeting will afford members the opportunity to experience the newest protected area in Tennessee.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture just announced the transfer of 2,690 acres of the Cedars of Lebanon State Forest to the TN Department of Environment and Conservation. This allows for the conservation of native species and the eventual construction of a trail connecting Cedars of Lebanon State Park to Long Hunter State Park through Wilson County, and along Percy Priest Lake.
July 26th - July 28th Cedars of Lebanon State Park
The Middle TN Group invites you to beautiful, historic Cedars of Lebanon State Park for a weekend of outdoor activities and indoor entertainment. The park has 10 miles of hiking trails ranging from easy to moderate, butterfly garden, disc golf course, and nature center that explores the ecological and cultural significance of the park.
Cedars of Lebanon features a landscape of karst formations including limestone sinkholes,caves and one of the largest stands of Eastern red cedars in the U.S.
Register hereby July 17th for the early bird discount!
Weekend Schedule
Friday- Welcome, meet & greet, explore
Saturday- Attend committee meetings, workshops, or join TN State Naturalist Randy Hedgepath on a morning tour of Jackson Cave, or an evening hike on the 1/2 mile Cedar Glade Trail. In the afternoon, there will be a screening and discussion of the documentary The Nuclear Option (2017). Saturday evening will feature live music from the acoustic duo of Antoinette Olesen and Buddy Farler. Making a special appearance will be award-winning songwriter Susan Shann. Shann integrates her passion for music with her core values of earth-care, social justice and inclusive spirituality, in a way that can positively impact and uplift others.
Sunday- Executive Committee (ExCom) meeting or relax until departure
For details and to learn a bit about the fascinating history of Cedars of Lebanon, read our recent blog post, then get registered here.
2019 Appalachian Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (APIEL)
When: Friday, September 27 - Sunday, September 29, Knoxville, TN
Where: University of Tennessee College of Law, 1505 Cumberland Ave, Knoxville, TN 37996
Sponsored by UTK College of Law, Sierra Club, United Mountain Defense (UMD), and others. APIEL is unique in our region as an informal and lay-friendly opportunity to learn from and connect with environmental lawyers, leaders, and activists concerned with environmental and social justice from all over the country - and it’s open to all. Two days of workshops are scheduled generally two at a time.
At APIEL 2018, Kentucky activists Davis Mounger and Jim Scheff wrap up their presentation, “Winning: It’s a thing. Strategies and stories from the front line of public lands defense.”
The conference features a series of workshops with the goal of exchanging information, sharing skills, and fostering collaboration between grassroots organizations, the bar, and future lawyers and policy-makers.
Register to attend, apply to present, and find more info at APIEL.org
Are you a numbers-oriented person with a bit of free time? The TN Chapter is in need of a Vice-Treasurer, who will step up to Treasurer in 2021. Plenty of hands-on training can be provided. A bookkeeper does the major reports (Yay!). For more information, please contact Treasurer Alice Demetreon at Demetreon1981@gmail.com or call/text (660) 247-2288.
On a spring day in 1892, a group of 29 academics, artists, and environmentalists gathered in a spacious law office at the First National Bank building in San Francisco to form a “Sierra Club” that would “explore, enjoy, and render accessible the mountain regions of the Pacific Coast." In the organization's founding charter, they wrote that the Club would also serve to help “enlist the support and cooperation of the people and government in preserving the forests and other natural features of the Sierra Nevada."
In the 127 years since the Sierra Club's historic founding, the once-29-member club has become the nation's largest grassroots environmental organization, with over 3.5 million members and supporters.
Fun fact: Early Sierra Club members were required to pay $5 in annual dues—the equivalent of about $133 in today’s currency. Today, you can join the Sierra Club for as little as the introductory offer of $15 a year!
We are the Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club, the world’s oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization. With over 3.5 million members and supporters, the Sierra Club has the resources to empower people and to influence public policy through community activism, public education, lobbying, and litigation.
Our mission is to Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet.
