On June 1, 2000, in a meeting at Briceville Elementary School, the Coal Creek Flood Prevention Committee (CCFPC) and the Coal Creek Clean Stream Initiative (CCCSI) agreed to dissolve both organizations and form the Coal Creek Watershed Foundation, Inc.

The new foundation will provide a structure to focus on coordination, communications, and funding for a variety of initiatives. The various engineering, conservation, scouting, and local organizations involved can then concentrate on implementation. The first public event of CCWF will be Coal Creek Deadwood Removal Day 2000 on June 24, 2000. A flyer describing this event is attached and further details can be found at www.coalcreekaml.com/Deadwood.htm.

The two disbanding groups formed earlier this year. CCFPC, composed of residents along Coal Creek, formed to seek relief from flooding by making Anderson County dredge the creek channel. CCCSI, composed of volunteers from outside the watershed, formed to reclaim abandoned coal mine lands and improve water quality in Coal Creek, as part of the Appalachian Clean Streams Initiative of the federal Office of Surface Mining. The CCCSI mission later expanded to that of Aimproving the quality of life in the Coal Creek watershed.@

For the past month, volunteers from CCCSI and CCFPC have worked with TVA and Anderson County to explore other methods to address flooding concerns in accordance with current laws. Development of an Emergency Response Plan, AProject Impact@ to purchase homes subject to yearly flooding, and construction of a benched floodplain above creek level are being examined.

According to CCCSI leader Barry Thacker, PE and CCFPC chairman Reverend Roy Daugherty, Atwo months ago, we believed that our two organizations were at opposite ends of the spectrum. After we met and talked, we realized our goals are the same.@ A steering committee, consisting of Reverend Daugherty, Thacker, Todd Johnson, PE (County Engineer), Tom Braden (Briceville Elementary School Principal) and John Thurman (Trout Unlimited), will establish the new CCWF organization.

In addition to flood protection measures, abandoned mine land reclamation, conservation/ ecology education, water quality improvements, and dental/health care initiatives are underway as described on the web site www.coalcreekaml.com. A new initiative, a Amotor history trail@, has been started to recognize the historical significance of Coal Creek and attract tourists to the area. Numbered signs will be placed at historic spots, such as the 1902 Fraterville Mine Disaster, the 1911 Cross Mountain Mine Disaster, Abattle@ sites from the Coal Creek War, reported sightings of the ghost of Drummond Bridge, the site of the opera house, and 19^th century churches built by Welsh immigrant miners. A booklet containing a map and descriptions of the history at each of the numbered sites will be prepared for distribution to visitors. Boy Scouts are waiting in line to develop components of the motor history trail as their Eagle Scout projects.

The motor history trail will also serve as a reminder of how far we have advanced in mine safety in the past 100 years. Representatives from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration have been contacted to include the 1902 and 1911 mine disasters in Coal Creek in their National Exhibition of Mine Disasters (http://www.msha.gov/DISASTER/DISASTER.HTM) as publicity for this new initiative in Coal Creek.