Progress Report 6

PROGRESS REPORT NO. 6 (April 17, 2000)

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As you can see from the revised web site at www.coalcreekaml.com, CCCSI has adopted the mission to improve the quality of life in the Coal Creek watershed. Because of the large number of volunteers now involved, we have posted the master plan to achieve this mission on our web site for interested parties to review and comment. The rationale for the expanded focus has been seconded by a representative of OSM at their headquarters in Washington as follows:

If I've learned anything from AMD&ART, it is that the real problem is not really the water and that if you restrict the effort to cleaning up the water and not changing the living conditions or the attitudes of those that live with the water, you won't really get very far. For me (revealing my background as historian and historic preservation Fed) AMD is really emblematic, a problem of history, a long story of cultural attitudes toward the environment, toward laborers, and a certain disregard for future consequences. If we are to truly address AMD, then we have to open the whole can of worms that is life in AMD country, not just try to clean the water and keep ourselves separated from all the other consequences of AMD-impacted regions.

And there are great opportunities in this approach. As Mr. Thacker is experiencing, there are far more advocates for broader approaches (even when each individual advocate may have his or her special interest). The more we work to find ways to include these diverse interests, the stronger is our advocacy base and the more useful are our efforts. This is not to say that addressing the whole problem is easy or, conversely, that it has to get so bogged down in generalities as to become ineffectual. Rather, finding the ways to include many interests in specific projects that can be accomplished (AMD&ART talks often of artfully transforming environmental liabilities into community assets) creates the sense of possibility and the momentum to keep citizen efforts alive and growing one specific step at a time.

Equally important, the funding sources for this broader approach are much more plentiful. The Brownfields program at EPA, Rural Development programs and PL566 at USDA, cultural tourism development money in tourism offices (my old job before I came to OSM and the base from which I invented AMD&ART) and many others are out there waiting for innovative and comprehensive approaches that take one step at a time but truly commit to the bigger picture.

This kind of mini-regional development is exactly the work I've done for years and an issue in which I firmly believe, essentially because I can point to a series of projects that really worked. The rewards in citizen involvement, in true progress and in the eyes of the kids whose futures we seek to improve, is well worth the risk.

And I promise you, you will not take that risk alone. You are on to a project that is exactly where I think OSM can be truly valuable and I'll do everything I can to help.

During the past two weeks, the following tasks were completed by CCCSI volunteers:

	ASCE held a series of watershed day planning meetings for the engineering exhibit. ASCE proposes to combined the exhibits of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and Trout Unlimited (TU) to provide each student with a "prize" that symbolizes the efforts of CCCSI in the watershed. The "prize" can be pinned to the baseball cap of each student.
	A meeting was held with OSM to discuss the progress of the initiative.
	The Clinch River Chapter (CRC) of TU held a series of meetings to plan the various activities for watershed day. CRC members have also been spending time collecting "bugs" in Coal Creek and its tributaries. Interest by local students during these "bug hunts" has evolved into making the "bug hunt" an event for watershed day.
	Presentations were made to engineering students at UT to solicit help on watershed day and beyond.
	A meeting was held with Mr. Paul Davis, Director of Water Pollution Control for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) to solicit ideas for our expanded mission.
	A presentation was given to the Norris Lions Club on the expanded mission of CCCSI.
	Wally Pressley (Director of the Lake City Chamber of Commerce) and Connie Elliott (Executive Director of the Anderson County Tourism Council) have volunteered to assist with watershed day and beyond. Meetings and tours of AML sites were conducted to inform them of the status of the initiative. A potential train excursion as part of the watershed day activities was explored, but adequate time is not available for this year. We will be working to make the train excursion from Oak Ridge to Coal Creek an activity for watershed day next year.
	Participated in the Clinch River Clean-up sponsored by CRC and TVA to solicit volunteers for CCCSI.
	Toured the coal mine drainage (CMD) sites with TDEC, TVA, and others to delineate the first two projects that will initiated (See photos in the Photo Gallery section of the web site).
	Made presentation to the Clinch River Chapter of Trout Unlimited. CRC members voted to partner with CCCSI in its expanded mission.
	The Master Plan for CCCSI has been revised and posted on the web site at www.coalcreekaml.com for interested parties to review and offer suggestions for improvement.
	A presentation was made to the Tennessee Coal Association. Four members volunteered to assist with the trash clean-up portion of watershed day.
	A meeting was scheduled with Mr. Jim Stewart, Superintendent of Anderson County Schools to coordinate the Adopt-A-Watershed and Engineering Venture Crew initiatives in the schools.
	Dream Contest entries by students at Briceville Elementary School were reviewed. We saw drawings of eagles snatching fish out of the water, white-tail deer in the mountains, kids lined up along the creek banks and in the water fishing, etc. One first grader said that if we would help bring trout to the streams, she and her family would help by picking up the trash in the streams. A teacher said that one of her students wanted to see a homeless shelter in Briceville. She told the student that there are no homeless people in Briceville. The student said "I've heard there are homeless people in other places and I think we should do something to help them". Anybody who doubts the decision to expand the mission of CCCSI should review the Dream Contest entries.
	We will have a watershed tour this Thursday (April 20). We will meet at the parking lot between the Lake City Public Library and Community Center at 12:00 noon. The library/community center is located adjacent to Highway 25W in Lake City, south of the two Lake City exits off I-75. We will carpool to Beech Grove Fork and Coal Creek. We can see the sites from the vehicles, but if any want a "birds-eye view", wear your boots and old clothes. After the tour, we will return to the Lake City Public Library. Send us an email if you want to participate in the tour.
	A watershed day planning meeting for exhibitors will be held at 3:00 pm at the Briceville Elementary School adjacent to Highway 116 (from the Lake City Public Library, go south on Highway 25W and turn right at the traffic light onto Highway 116 - Briceville is about 4 miles southwest of the Highway 25W/Highway 116 traffic light). The planning meeting will begin at 3:00 pm (Thursday April 20) and should be over by about 4:30. Send us an email if you want to attend the planning meeting.