Tuesday, March 12th, 2013

Call today. Tell your committee members to support the Scenic Vistas Protection Act tomorrow.

Tennessee legislators are scheduled to take up a critical vote tomorrow on the Scenic Vistas Protection Act — a bill with broad, bipartisan support that would help ensure the beauty and economic vitality of the Cumberland Plateau.

Call your legislators today and ask them to support the Scenic Vistas Protection Act.

Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) will be carrying the bill (HB 43 / SB 99) in the House Subcommittee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Senator Lowe Finney (D-Jackson) in the Senate Committee on Energy, Agriculture, and Natural Resources.

Here are a list of critical legislators who need to hear from you before tomorrow’s vote:

House:

Chairman Ron Lollar (R-Bartlett) / 615-741- 7084

Curtis Halford (R-Dyer) / 615-741-7478

Andy Holt (R-Dresden) / 615-741-7847

Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) / 615-741-7448

Billy Spivey (R-Franklin) / 615-741-4170

John Tidwell (D-New Johnsonville) / 615-741-7098

Ron Travis (R-Dayton) / 615-741-1450

Brenda Gilmore (D-Nashville) /  615-741-1997 [This is a “Thank you!” as Representative Gilmore is a co-sponsor of the Scenic Vistas bill.]

Senate:

Chairman Steve Southerland (R-Morristown)/615-741-3851

Mae Beavers (R-Mt Juliet)/ 615-741-2421

Jim Summerville (R-Dickson) / 615-741-4499

Mike Bell (R-Riceville) / 615-741-1946

Charlotte Burks (D-Monterey) / 615-741-3978

Ophelia Ford (D-Memphis) / 615-741-1767

Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) / 615-741-6682

Dolores Gresham (R-Somerville) / 615-741-2368

Frank Niceley (R-Knoxville) / 615-741-2061

Let these legislators know that you are a Tennessean who cares about protecting our mountains. And please pass this along so that legislators hear from as many of us as possible.

What does this bill do?

The Scenic Vistas Protection Act says that you can’t blast apart virgin ridgelines above 2,000 feet when surface mining for coal.

What does this bill NOT do?

• Scenic Vistas DOES NOT impact underground mining or other important industries in Tennessee.

• Scenic Vistas DOES NOT Impact any current surface mining permits or their renewals, which are grandfathered in.

A few talking points

• As Tennesseans, we love our mountains, and we don’t think we need to blast them apart for a small amount of coal.

• We don’t have to hate coal and we don’t have to hate coal mining to want to protect our mountains. We just want Tennessee to be the first state to say “We’re going to mine coal AND protect our mountaintops at the same time.”

• Since 1985, the Tennessee coal industry has laid off 85 percent of its workforce, while the percentage of our coal coming from surface mining versus underground mining has increased. Scenic Vistas will help protect coal-mining jobs in our state.

• Mountaintop removal is bad business, and even the coal industry is realizing that this destructive form of mining is not worth the cost. Patriot Coal, one of the largest coal companies in the nation, recently announced that it is stopping mountaintop removal operations because not only is it damaging to the environment, but it’s bad for their employees and for the communities where they work.

After you make your calls, e-mail us at tn@appvoices.org to let us know what the offices are saying!

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