[TN-Bird] Action Alert: Stop mountaintop mining
- From: Melinda Welton <weltonmj@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: tnbird <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:49:25 -0500
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Bird Conservation Action Alert
Subject: Stop mountaintop mining
Action: Write letters to TN Senators and your Representative to the House
From: Melinda Welton, TOS Conservation Policy Committee Co-chair
Easy Action: Go to <http://www.abcbirds.org/action> and follow the
instructions.
TOS Background: Stopping the destructive practice of mountaintop mining in
Tennessee and the eastern United States has long been an issue important to
the Tennessee Ornithological Society. Not only does this practice destroy
watersheds and forests that are important to many birds of high conservatio=
n
concern birds, but mountaintop mining is particularly destructive to the
most important breeding habitat of the rapidly declining Cerulean Warbler.
There is more background at the end of this email that was sent by the
American Bird Conservancy.
Action Senate:
1. Send a thank you letter (Fax or email only) to Senator Alexander for
co-sponsoring S. 696, the =B3Appalachian Restoration Act=B2. [See addresses
below]=20
2. Send a letter to Corker asking him to become a co-sponsor
Action in the House:
1. Write to your Representative only. [To look up your representative in
Congress, go to https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml]
2. If your Representative is Cohen, Gordon, or Cooper, send them a thank yo=
u
letter for co-sponsoring HR 1310.
3. All other Representative need to be asked to become co-sponsors.
Sample letters:
1. THE EASY WAY: Go to the American Bird Conservancy link
<http://www.abcbirds.org/action>, follow the instructions, edit the letter
to make it your own.
2. Copies of the letters that TOS sent to our two Senators are attached. Yo=
u
are free to use them as a guide, but please do not copy them word for word.
Send us a blind copy:
To track the number of letters that our action alerts are generating, pleas=
e
send a blind copy or an email to: Gregg Elliott <greggelliott@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Addresses for Senators Alexander and Corker [remember to send fax or email
only]:
The Honorable Senator Lamar Alexander
Washington Office
455 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
FAX: 202-228-3398
Email: http://alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=3DContact.Home
=20
The Honorable Senator Bob Corker
United States Senate
Dirksen Senate Office Building, SD-185
Washington, DC 20510
Fax: 202-228-0566
Email:=20
http://corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=3DContactInformation.Con=
t
actMe
=20
Below is a forwarded message from the American Bird Conservancy, which give=
s
background on the issue and links to several additional sites.
=20
> =20
> To: The Bird Conservation Alliance From: Anne Law, American Bird
> Conservancy, alaw@xxxxxxxxxxxx, 202/234-7181 Date: September 23, 2009
> Action Alert: Legislation to Halt Mountaintop Mining Please contact you=
r
> lawmakers and urge them to cosponsor legislation to halt mountain top
> removal. If they have already done so, please thank them. Public suppor=
t on
> a large scale is vital, so please consider putting out an action alert =
to
> all your members and newsletter subscribers to contact their Senators a=
nd
> Representative asking them to support this legislation. You are welcome =
to
> direct them to ABC=B9s automated action system if you do not have the cap=
acity
> to do this in-house: www.abcbirds.org/action <http://www.abcbirds.org/ac=
tion>
> and to utilize any of the material in this posting and the letters on t=
he
> ABC action page. THE DETAILS Representatives Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and =
Dave
> Riechert (R-WA) have introduced legislation that could bring an end to =
the
> environmentally devastating process of mountaintop coal mining. The bill=
,
> H.R. 1310, would amend the Clean Water Act to clarify the definition of
> =B3fill material=B2 and prevent mountaintop mining waste from being dumped =
into
> nearby valleys. The House bill currently has 155 cosponsors which is ve=
ry
> good progress, but H.R. 1310 needs additional cosponsors to have hope o=
f
> being considered and passing. Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Lamar
> Alexander (R-TN) have introduced a companion bill in the Senate, S. 696,
> =B3The Appalachia Restoration Act=B2, which accomplishes the same task. If =
the
> legislation passes and is signed into law, it would force the Army Corp=
s of
> Engineers to re-evaluate how it issues permits for mountaintop mining. =
S.
> 696 has seven cosponsors, Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Robert Menen=
dez
> (D-NJ), Sheldon Whitehorse (D-RI), Kirsten Gildebrand (D-NY), Richard D=
urbin
> (D-IL), Diane Feinstein (D-CA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). This legisl=
ation
> is essential to keep mountaintop mining operations from inflicting
> irrevocable damage to mountain forest and riparian ecosystems that many =
bird
> species depend on. By taking action today, citizens can help the Cerulea=
n
> Warbler and other bird species of conservation concern. BETTER ALTERNATI=
VES
> EXIST There are better alternatives to generating power than by burning
> carbon-heavy coal, and other ways to create jobs in the region. Current=
ly
> nearly a million acres of degraded mine lands in Appalachia need to be
> reforested. Thousands of jobs can be created by carrying out this work,
> which will have the long-term benefits of expanding wildlife habitat,
> particularly interior forests which are becoming increasingly rare in th=
e
> region due to development and forest fragmentation, and providing clean =
water
> supplies. George Fenwick, ABC=B9s President, recently published a blog on=
the
> Huffington Post, Green Forest Works for Appalachia: A Win-Win-Win for J=
obs,
> Forests, and Birds
> <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-fenwick/green-forest-works-for-ap_b=
_2731
> 37.html> which discusses this green jobs restoration opportunity.
> ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND Mountaintop removal/valley fill coal mining
> <http://www.abcbirds.org/conservationissues/threats/energyproduction/moun=
taint
> op.html> is America=B9s most destructive mining practice. Entire tops of
> mountains are removed to access coal seams, and millions of tons of rock=
and
> fill are dumped into surrounding valleys, burying streams and their aqu=
atic
> life and decimating forests. More than 1,200 miles of streams and river
> valleys in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee have been b=
uried
> by mountaintop mining activities so far. The most notable bird species
> harmed by this practice is the Cerulean Warbler
> <http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/science/watchlist/cerulean_warbler.h=
tml>
> , which prefers mature forests on ridgetops, and whose core breeding ran=
ge
> falls within the Appalachian coalfield region. Since surveys began the 1=
960s,
> the Cerulean Warbler population has declined by 70%. Many other bird spe=
cies
> that rely on interior forests in the region are also impacted. Fortunat=
ely,
> mountaintop mining is facing growing public opposition and government
> scrutiny. New legislation could put an end to the destruction and the
> Environmental Protection Agency is finally taking a closer look at new
> mining applications. Last week the EPA sent a letter
> <http://www.eenews.net/features/documents/2009/09/08/document_pm_01.pdf>
> asking the Army Corps of Engineers to halt one of the largest mountaint=
op
> removal operations in West Virginia. EPA also announced that it would r=
eview
> another 79 proposed permits
> <http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/guidance/mining-screening.html> . The
> EPA=B9s initial reviews of the projects found that they would cause water
> quality impacts requiring a more detailed review under the Clean Water A=
ct.
> This long overdue oversight is a welcome step in the right direction.
>=20
>=20
>=20
> =20
> =20
>=20
> =20
>=20
------ End of Forwarded Message
------ End of Forwarded Message
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------------------------------
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-------------------------------
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