Current Situation

Due to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic situation, we are sensitive to our constituents during this challenging crisis…

Update On In-Person Gatherings
In-person events are back! This fall, HBG will gather for our first in-person program of the year (more information to come). All in-person outings and events will be modified for COVID safety. Masks are not required for outdoor gatherings, but social distancing will be in place. We look forward to seeing you all again soon, and thank you for bearing with us as we do our best to bring you wonderful events and keep each other safe at the same time!
Read more about reopening guidelines here

Virtual meetings and events:
Online (via Zoom) Tennessee Chapter ExCom Business meetings
Online (via Zoom) Harvey Broome Group ExCom meetings
Online (via Zoom) Harvey Broome Group Program Meetings - note online program meeting info below
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August 2021 Virtual Program
What: Presentation and Discussion of the Documentary: Green Fire – Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time
When: Tuesday, August 10, 2021, 7:00-8:30 PM
Where: Virtual via Zoom. Please RSVP through this Campfire Event Link. You will receive information on how to connect to this program and be notified via email if there are any changes.


Photo credit: Aldo Leopold Foundation

Join us for a viewing of the first full-length documentary film made about the legendary conservation thinker Aldo Leopold. Green Fire explores Leopold's extraordinary career and his enduring influence - tracing how he shaped the modern conservation movement and continues to inspire projects all over the country that connect people and the land. Watch the trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGIK24N7apQ

Green Fire was produced through a partnership between the Aldo Leopold Foundation, the Center for Humans and Nature, and the U.S. Forest Service. The film examines Leopold’s idea of a land ethic and its relevance to a population facing 21st century ecological challenges. His biographer, conservation biologist Curt Meine, serves as the film’s onscreen guide.

The film describes the formation and evolution of Leopold’s idea, exploring how it changed one man and later permeated all arenas of conservation. By presenting examples of the deep impact of his thinking on current conservation projects around the world, the film challenges viewers to contemplate their own relationship with the natural world.

Green Fire uses photographs, correspondence, and other documents from the voluminous Leopold Archives, along with historical and contemporary film footage of important Leopold landscapes. Also featured is commentary from many influential conservation leaders, including three of Leopold’s children – Nina, Carl, and Estella – and renowned scholars, environmental writers, scientists, policy makers, and business and non-profit leaders.

This film garnered several awards including: an Emmy Award, Best Historical Documentary, Chicago/Midwest Chapter, 2012; a Telly Award, 2011; and a CINE Golden Eagle Award,

Please RSVP at the following link and you will receive information on how to link to this virtual presentation:

Note: Consult the HBG website Calendar for updates to our calendar. Questions regarding HBG events should be addressed to HBG Chair Jerry Thornton (gatwilcat@aol.com).

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HBG and Local Issues & Business

Knoxville Water and Energy for All Campaign
By Kent Minault

On June 24th at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Knoxville Water and Energy for All launched a campaign to address energy burden in the service area of the Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB).  Energy burden is when your utility bill exceeds 10% of your income. Using data provided by KUB and comparing it with census tract information, researchers demonstrated that black households in Knoxville are nearly twice as likely to be energy burdened as white households. KWEA is pushing a possible solution to this alarming disparity – one also endorsed by the Harvey Broome Group. It’s called PIPP, or Percentage of Income Payment Plan. With PIPP, a qualifying household with annual income at or below the federal poverty level would be billed at a percentage of their income and at a rate that would meet nationally accepted thresholds for energy and water affordability.  Adopting it would keep utilities affordable for poor people moving forward, even with projected rate hikes.  It would protect both homeowners and renters.  As Mt. Zion’s Reverend Calvin Skinner put it, “We need system change, not just a charitable handout that provides short-term relief.”
Read more here.

Update on Oak Ridge Hazardous Waste Landfill
By Virginia Dale, Advocates for the Oak Ridge Reservation (AFORR)


Virginia Dale speaks at a public hearing on the landfill in 2018. Image credit Todd Waterman.
 
On July 12, the Department of Energy (DOE) publicly released its long-delayed draft Record of Decision (ROD) for a proposed new landfill for low-level radioactive and hazardous waste from building demolition at the Oak Ridge Site. The draft ROD of the Environmental Management Disposal Facility (EMDF) will undergo a 60-day review by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EMDF ROD is available on TDEC's website: EMDFDocuments  Additional information about the proposed landfill can be found at Hazardous Waste Landfill (EMDF) | AFORR.

Furthermore, EPA has announced that it will review the Trump Administration Decision on Nuclear Cleanup.
This review follows a letter spearheaded by the Southern Environmental Law Center and signed onto by the Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club and other community groups that requested that the EPA review and reconsider the December 2020 decision issued by former EPA Administrator Wheeler.  Issues of concern regard the discharge to surface water of contaminated wastewater generated at the existing Environmental Management Waste Management Facility and proposed EMDF.

Comments

Bull Run Fossil Plant Threatens Anderson County Community
By Adam Hughes, Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment (SOCM)

At the July 12th meeting, Bull Run District Commissioner Tracy Wandell (left) said angrily, "I was for leaving the coal ash in place. But, what I'm seeing now, I'm not for it … I need a timeline. Long-time TVA coal ash worker Jason Williams (right, with TDEC's Pat Flood) asked why TDEC and TVA were only testing fish and mayflies.“They’re not dead. The geese and the ducks are dead. The workers are dead. I’m the only one left in this room from last time!” Image credit Todd Waterman.

The Anderson County courtroom fell silent in shock as the import of the slides onscreen sunk in. Selenium, arsenic, mercury…Beryllium, nickel, lead…Cobalt, lithium, barium, molybdenum, copper…All measured in excess of the protective standards. We all knew storing coal ash in giant unlined pits, under the water table and right next to the river and the local community was a recipe for pollution. But to see the evidence coming from the state officials assigned to protect us, and to see so many heavy metals had entered the ground and surface water…
 
For families living near the Bull Run coal plant, for the children who play in the adjoining playground, for anyone who fishes or recreates on the river, this is a permanent problem – and one that a growing coalition of allies demands immediate action to address.
 
The Bull Run Neighbors group, composed of community members and allies associated with the Sierra Club, Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment, and Appalachian Voices , has been demanding for years that TVA commit to a just economic transition as they close the Bull Run Fossil Plant by the end of 2023. We’ve attended meetings and demanded real answers, and won a huge victory last year when TVA pulled its proposal for a new coal ash landfill in a densely-populated neighborhood. Increasingly, it’s become apparent that a sustainable future for Anderson County isn’t possible until something is done about the coal ash.
 
Continue reading here.

Watch the July 12th Anderson County Intergovernmental Committee meeting recording (sound begins at 1:15):
 
Sunrise Movement Action for Renewable Energy in Tennessee
By Isabella Killius, Sunrise Knoxville


Isabella Killius (left) and other Sunrise Knoxville leaders pose after their Good Jobs for All rally April 7. Image credit Todd Waterman.
 
On July 15th, Knoxville residents and supporters representing Sunrise Knoxville, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), the Harvey Broome Group of the Sierra Club, Statewide Organizing for Community Empowerment (SOCM), and the Knoxville chapter of Democratic Socialists of America gathered outside the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Towers on a national day of action for the Sunrise Movement. This was also the last day of a public comment period for TVA’s Kingston Coal Plant environmental impact statement scoping period as TVA plans to retire the plant and replace its generating capacity. The group gathered outside TVA towers and urged TVA not to build new fossil gas plants. Instead, attendees voiced the need for TVA to invest in clean, renewable energy such as solar, storage, and energy efficiency. These forms of green energy would create good-paying union jobs and help reduce carbon emissions that are directly  contributing to the climate crisis. The group also called on TVA to be an industry leader by committing to reaching 100% clean energy generation by 2030.
 
Said members of the Sunrise Knoxville hub, who read out loud their statement on TVA, “We believe that TVA must work to bring clean, renewable energy for the people of Tennessee Valley. Clean energy is better for the health of people, the Earth, and the economy. In this transition to clean energy, TVA must also focus on creating good-paying union jobs for people across the Tennessee Valley.
 
Youth members of Sunrise Knoxville hope that TVA will listen to and implement these demands as customers, residents, and community members of the Tennessee Valley. Folks of the TN Valley strongly believe in the potential for the Tennessee Valley Authority to adopt an authentic public power model, under which a just transition away from hazardous fossil fuels, as well as public input in TVA’s decision-making, are of the utmost importance.

KUB posts intentions with respect to disconnections for non-payment.

They also include their suggestions for “assistance” for those in need, and how those of us in better circumstances can assist those in need via “Project Help."
 
For utility companies in other counties and municipalities in Tennessee, e.g., Alcoa, LaFollete, Lenoir City, Maryville, Clinton, and more, links to pandemic response policies can be found here.

Federally Funded Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
This federal program provides federally funded assistance in managing costs associated with: home energy bills, energy crises, weatherization and energy-related minor home repairs.

Read about other local events in Tennessee in our Chapter e-newsletters.

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Events and Actions

The People’s TVA Hearing
August 4, 6 pm - 8 pm EDT Virtual event via Zoom


Image Credit Tennessee Valley Energy Democracy Movement.
 
Former Kingston coal ash cleanup worker Ron Bledsoe, now suffering with COPD, stares at the source of the spill in December, 2020 (photo by Todd Waterman)

A happier solar worker (photo by Oregon Department of Transportation, Creative Commons)

“The Tennessee Valley Authority talks a good game about being public power, but they are simply not walking the walk. The TVA has stopped having public listening sessions where we the people can actually make our voices heard! So, we’ve decided that we’ll just hold our own hearing- The People’s TVA Hearing!
 
“There are so many crucial and urgent issues facing us right now in the Valley: How do we reduce high energy burdens so people can afford their energy bills? How will TVA deal with continued cleanup and storage of toxic coal ash and keep workers and community members safe? Will TVA remain wedded to fossil fuels or move rapidly to clean energy?
 
“Join the Tennessee Valley Energy Democracy Movement and our partners, community members, advocates, and experts as we discuss all these important issues and more. The hearing will feature opportunities for people to deliver public comments as well as facilitated breakout discussions to dive deeper and discuss specific issues together in smaller groups with fellow citizens and issue experts.”
 
RSVP here.

Agenda.

Bull Run Neighbors Community Meeting
August 5, 6 pm - 7:30 pm EDT
Melton Lake Park Pavilion
697 Melton Lake Dr, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
(the blue-roofed pavilion will be to your left at the end of the parking lot)

Past meeting at Melton Lake Park Pavilion. Image credit Todd Waterman.
 
Bull Run Neighbors will host a grassroots community meeting on beautiful Melton Lake, with the Bull Run Coal Plant looming downstream, a setting perfect for envisioning together the healthy and revitalized community Claxton could become if we demand TVA safely remove its toxic coal ash to high, dry, lined landfills far from people, seismic faults, and waterways, and then properly restore the closing plant’s site. Jay Clark will open with a song, and will be back at the end.
 
Because the Delta variant is spreading here, please attend in person if fully vaccinated and able to wear a well-fitted mask, and virtually if not yet fully protected (we'll post links).
 
We’ll discuss some bad news: at the July 12 Anderson County Intergovernmental Committee Meeting, officials from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) revealed recent tests showing not just groundwater but sediments in the Worthington Branch, Bull Run Creek, and the Clinch River are contaminated with Bull Run coal ash toxins arsenic, lead, barium, cobalt, beryllium, copper, selenium, nickel, and/or mercury. Anderson County and much of West Knoxville drinks from water intakes very close to the contamination.
 
We’ll discuss some good news, too: thanks to grassroots organizing by the Bull Run Neighbors team, the community and its officials are powerfully united in demanding that TVA properly clean up its coal ash, and that TDEC require TVA to do so - and soon. And the press is broadcasting our message to the public and to our elected lawmakers. We'll close with more fine music from Jay Clark. And ice cream. We can linger until sunset if we like. See you there!
 
RSVP on Campfire.

Facebook event.

Public Comment Opportunity: Laurel Falls Trail Congestion

Laurel Falls. Image credit Pete LaMotte, Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
 
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the United States, and the park works hard to balance visitor use with natural resource protection. One of the most popular Smokies destinations, Laurel Falls, will undergo a restricted-entry pilot project this fall, from September 7th through October 30th. The pilot project will eliminate roadside parking outside the formal parking lot, which damages plants and soil and causes safety risks for visitors walking along the road to the trailhead. Visitors will pay to reserve a parking spot online or take a shuttle to the trailhead from downtown Gatlinburg.
 
From the park’s news release:
 
“Public commenting on the Laurel Falls Trail Congestion Management Pilot Project is open from July 20, 2021 through Aug. 7, 2021 and includes opportunities to submit written comments. Written comments may be submitted:             
 
Online (the preferred method)
Visit https://parkplanning.nps.gov/LaurelFallsPilot
Select “Open for Comment” on the left menu bar, open the Laurel Falls Trail Congestion Management Pilot Project folder and click on the green “Comment Now” button to access the online commenting form; or
 
By Postal Mail
Send comments to:
Superintendent Cassius Cash
Attn: Laurel Falls Trail Congestion Management Pilot Project
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
107 Park Headquarters Rd.
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
 
Written comments on the initial draft of the Laurel Falls Trail Congestion Management Pilot Project must be submitted online or be postmarked by Aug. 7, 2021 to be considered. For more information about the proposed Laurel Falls Trail Congestion Management Pilot Project, including public meeting details, virtual log-in instructions and more, visit the planning website.

Change Powered by People: Sierra Club Political Training Series
Tuesdays in August, 7:00-8:30 PM EDT
Join Sierra Club National for a virtual summer training series to support a federal-level lobbying effort focused on funding infrastructure and protecting democracy.

Training Topics:
August 3rd - Climate Justice, Equity & the Sierra Club
August 10th - Lobbying for Change
August 17th - Storytelling to Build Power & Connection
August 24th - Make your Activism Sparkle & Shine! A Training on Creative Activism
August 31st - Does your Senator Tweet? A Training on Online Activism and Social Media advocacy
Sign up here: https://www.mobilize.us/sierraclubaction/event/401788/

Sowing Justice Eastern Tennessee Environmental Coalition Meeting
August 11, 6 pm EDT
Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development (SEEED)
1617 Dandridge Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915


Image credit Sowing Justice.

“Environmental and climate justice is a civil rights issue. We all depend on the physical environment and its bounty. Join the Sowing Justice Team and dozens of East Tennessee activists to learn how you can join in the fight for environmental justice and increase civic engagement in traditionally marginalized communities. ***Please Note: This is an in-person event only, and will not have virtual attendance capabilities.***

“Say You're In -- RSVP TODAY! If you are unable to attend, please check out our upcoming events and the many ways you can help Sowing Justice increase civic engagement and eradicate environmental injustice.”

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Environmental Newsflash

*** Note to readers about accessing these articles

Toxic TVA coal ash on Claxton playground confirmed by Duke University testing.
Jamie Satterfield, Knoxville News Sentinel, July 27.
“More than two years after Knox News sounded the alarm that children could be exposed to radioactive coal ash on an East Tennessee playground, an independent scientific study has confirmed coal ash waste at the site.

“The study — published this week in one of the nation's top environmental science and technology journals — reveals coal ash contamination at a children’s playground adjacent to the Tennessee Valley Authority's Bull Run coal-fired power plant in Claxton and on several properties downwind of the plant. Coal ash is the byproduct of burning coal to produce electricity, and it contains a toxic stew of 26 cancer-causing pollutants and radioactive heavy metals.

“The kids that are playing there would be exposed every time dust is kicked up or they are playing in sand there or whatever kids do,”said Duke University lead researcher Dr. Avner Vengosh. “The kids playing there are more vulnerable than adults.”

Related: New Tests Can Detect Tiny but Toxic Particles of Coal Ash in Soil. Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, July 22.

Report: TVA Neglected Coal Plant Worker Safety. Caroline Eggers, WPLN News, July 22.
“The inspector general of the Tennessee Valley Authority says in its latest report that coal plant workers have not been adequately guarded against potentially dangerous exposures.”
 
Cited Report: Coal Plant Industrial Hygiene Tennessee Valley Authority OIG, July 20

Commissioner, citizens want faster action on Bull Run ash. Benjamin Pounds, Oakridger, July 20.
“Local residents are asking for faster action regarding Bull Run Fossil Plant's ash after studies showed issues with sediments and groundwater.” The Oak Ridger reports on the July 12th Anderson County Commission meeting where the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation shared their findings of water contamination near the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Clinton.

Climate Migration Is Already Here And It's Going To Get Worse. NPR Innovation Hub, July 16.
Princeton Professor and IPCC Report co-author Michael Oppenheimer "explains how the increasingly deadly combination of heat and humidity is driving people from their homelands,” especially those who must work outside or who can’t afford air conditioning. “A certain level of climate change is already baked into the system for the next 30 years… governments must restructure their thinking around climate change to focus not just on emissions, but also extreme weather response.” Homeowners in cities like Miami and Houston face abandonment decisions as flooding increases.
 
Germany mounts huge rescue effort after floods leave dozens dead and many more missing. Nadine Schmidt, Schams Elwazer, Barbara Wojazer and Sharon Braithwaite, CNN, July 16.
"We will be faced with such events over and over, and that means we need to speed up climate protection measures, on European, federal and global levels, because climate change isn't confined to one state." - Armin Laschet, the Conservatives' candidate to succeed German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Related -- Europe Flooding Deaths Pass 125, and Scientists See Fingerprints of Climate Change: Parts of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands were inundated. High waters and damage to roads and bridges hampered rescue efforts in Germany. Melissa Eddy, Jack Ewing, Megan Specia and Steven Erlanger, The New York Times, July 17.

Tennessee Voices, Episode 202: Jan Berry, Citizens' Climate Lobby. David Plazas, Nashville Tennessean, July 14.
“The Tennessee Voices podcast brings readers conversations with authors of insightful and compelling guest columns.” Jan Berry is Tennessee Coordinator for Citizens Climate Lobby and a member of the Bull Run Neighbors grassroots community organizing team.

Opinion: If TVA retires Kingston plant, community and workers must insist they are protected. Julie Bledsoe, Guest columnist, KnoxNews, July 13.


Kingston Fossil Plant. Image credit Appalachian Voices.
 
“When contractors are put in charge, TVA can wash its hands of any responsibility. The community must stand up independently of TVA guidance and stay involved throughout this process.”

Joe Manchin says he's 'very, very' disturbed about reconciliation proposals on climate change. Manu Raju, CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent, CNN, July 12.
“Manchin, who hails from coal-producing West Virginia, told CNN that he's ‘very, very disturbed’ by provisions he believes would eliminate fossil fuels -- a warning sign for Democrats who need all 50 members of their caucus to sign off on the plan in order to get it through the Senate. But the climate provisions are key to getting support from liberals, particularly in the House.”

Energy Department Pushed for Roadmap on TVA’s Transition to 100% Just, Renewable Energy. Press Release, Center for Biological Diversity, July 29.

"[W]e, the undersigned 87 organizations urge the Department of Energy (DOE) to prioritize the Tennessee Valley Authority (“TVA”) as a national living laboratory to pioneer the country’s renewable and just energy transition urgently needed to combat the climate emergency. Specifically, we urge DOE, through the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) or other available authority, to develop the roadmap for TVA to provide 100% clean and renewable energy to the Tennessee Valley by 2030…"

Co-signers include Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices, Tennessee Alliance for Progress, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Sunrise, and Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light.

Read about other events in Tennessee in our Chapter e-newsletters.

*** A democracy with informed citizens requires the professionalism that we have historically expected of credible news sources. Most “local" newspapers today are asking folks who access their online news stories to purchase a subscription to their paper. This is understandable generally, and reminds us that we should do our part to pay for the resources that result in publication of local news. Those of us who use summaries of published print news, as we do, are no exception, and we ask the same of our readers. However, we also believe that a person who only wants to see an occasional article published in a newspaper should not be required to subscribe. So if you believe that you are in the latter category - only an occasional reader - you may be able to read an article without a subscription if you "browse anonymously" or clear your browser cache before activating a link to an article. This may help you avoid many "pay walls" at these news sources (some sources restrict access even with anonymous settings). Another approach is to search for alternate source on the particular news item. But we recommend that our readers who find themselves accessing an online news source on a regular basis subscribe to an online version of the paper, which is generally much cheaper than a  print version.

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Can't donate now? Sign up for Kroger Community Rewards. Kroger donates a portion of what you spend to the Harvey Broome Group as long as you designate HBG as your preferred charity.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Kroger Community Rewards web page
2. Register (or Sign In if you already have an account.)
3. Enroll in Community Rewards (or Edit if you're already enrolled.)
4. Enter HBG's Community Rewards Number 27874.

That's it. Swipe your Kroger Card when you shop and know that you're helping protect your environment.

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