Lake Martin Topics: Coal Mining at Smith Lake!!!!!

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	Name:	waterph -
	Subject:	Coal Mining at Smith Lake!!!!!
	Date:	9/8/2008 8:49:14 PM

I recently went to Black Warrior Riverkeeper's web site and reviewed issue 11 of the winter 2008 issue from Black Warrio Riverkeeper. This article addresses some of the environmental issues with strip mining of coal close to a major warrior source supplying drinking water to a major metropolitan area. I copied the first part of the article for reiew on this forum.

"Shepherd Bend Mine: Threat to Birmingham Water Supply

Shepherd Bend Mine, a proposed coal mine along the Black Warrior River’s Mulberry Fork, is right across the river from the Birmingham Water Works Board's drinking water intake. Putting a massive 1,773 acre strip mine adjacent to one of Birmingham’s major drinking water intakes is ludicrous. This mine proposes 29
wastewater outfalls into the river and its tributaries.

The entity applying for this mine's wastewater discharge permit through ADEM is Shepherd Bend, LLC. Its Managing Member, Donald M. Baxter, is also the Managing Member of Quinton Mining, LLC, which violated its discharge permit at another mine in the same area over 200 times in 2005 and 2006. ADEM’s fine was a mere slap on the wrist. Paying ADEM’s meager fines is a small cost of doing business compared to the cost of installing proper pollution controls.

There is every reason to believe permit compliance will be an issue at Shepherd Bend Mine as well. When a coal strip mine violates its permit, high amounts of total suspended solids, or muddy water, and heavy metals such as iron, aluminum, and manganese, among other pollutants, are discharged.

If there is a location where a coal mine should be denied a permit, this is it. Our drinking water is too important. The Mulberry Fork supplies Birmingham with tens of millions of gallons of water each day.

Watershed protection is the key component to a healthy water supply, especially for the land immediately adjacent to the water intake. Once watershed protections are lost and pollution is inevitable, chemical treatment of the water becomes necessary. It is much more costly to treat polluted water than clean water. The Birmingham Water Works is concerned about this mine’s potential to pollute our water and raise treatment costs."

What will be the scenario for Smith Lake if ADEM approves this project? Will the environmental changes from coal mining be exponential when added to the large changes already seen from lake level shifts due to cooling water for Gotgas from June to September?