Cumberland Fossil Plant: Environmental watchdog wants TVA to go carbon-free theleafchronicle.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theleafchronicle.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
May 26, 2021 Mister Peabody s Coal train doesn t run much through upper East Tennessee these days. The trains John Prine sang about in his famous song, Paradise, are practically non-existent.
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Compared to the 1950s and 60s when Claiborne, Campbell and Scott counties were considered coal-mining country, the industry has nearly vanished, according to those who monitor it.
Yet the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is set to resume regulation and permitting of Tennessee s coal mining, taking over from the federal Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement after 37 years. This includes overseeing mountaintop removal and mining in which the Earth s surface is removed and equipment digs into the ground to mine coal.
TVA Cumberland Steam Plant could close under weight of federal change
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The Tennessee Valley Authority s Cumberland Fossil Plant in Stewart County could be permanently shut down under increased federal pressure to put an end to coal-fired electrical power generation.
The Cumberland City plant has been in operation since 1972, and as a staple of the local economy, historically employed upwards of 400 people throughout the region.
For Stewart, Houston, Montgomery and neighboring counties, there are other economic consequences potentially at stake with this review, including the possible loss of some of the area s better-paying jobs, and the loss of a power-generating plant in a rural area where unemployment has, at times, been historically high.