......This Just In!

We just got this today!!!

The TSRA, the Big South Fork, the Cumberland River and the citizens of Tennessee and Kentucky need your immediate help. In the last couple of days, I was made aware of a proposal to build a landfill on a tributary of the Big South Fork of the Cumberland. The landfill would be built on, or near, Bear Creek just outside of Oneida, TN in Scott County. Bear Creek flows northwest out of Oneida and meets the Big South Fork between Leatherwood Ford, and Blue Heron. At the bottom of the page, I have listed three links to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation website, so you can view the proposals in their entirety.
I will list the highlights of the proposal below, so you can quickly see why we should oppose this landfill: The new landfill will fill in 0.82 acres of wetland.
The new landfill will fill in 1,417 linear feet (over a quarter of a mile) of a perennial stream. I assume this stream to be Bear Creek.

The landfill will accept the disposal of domestic wastes, commercial wastes, institutional wastes, municipal solid wastes, bulky wastes, landscaping and land clearing wastes, industrial wastes, construction/demolition wastes, farming wastes, shredded automotive tires, dead animals, and special wastes (see #4).
The landfill is also being considered as a disposal site for fly ash from the Tennessee Valley Authority coal ash spill in Kingston. The proposed landfill is only 57 miles straight up HWY 27 from Kingston.
See this article from the USA Today on Friday to see why there is a good chance the TVA will utilize it: http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=tennessean&sParam=32959265.storyI will spare you the legal arguments and scientific data and instead offer you plain common sense -Filling in a year round creek with waste is certainly something we should oppose. Filling that creek with the same toxic materials being removed from the Emory River is something the entire state should oppose. Fly ash contains arsenic, lead, and mercury along with other toxic heavy metals. Trash and toxic waste dumped into a tributary of the Big South Fork will certainly find its way downstream into the Cumberland River, where many communities, including Nashville get their drinking water. Please join me in opposing this landfill.

There is an opportunity for public comment at a hearing tomorrow:
Monday, March 8, 2010 in the Courtroom of Oneida City Hall, 19222 Alberta Street, Oneida, TN. From 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST, citizens are invited to inspect and discuss the permit application, draft permit, fact sheet, plans, and other materials with the DSWM and with representatives of the applicant. There will be an opportunity for public comments to be recorded or written and submitted from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The formal hearing will begin at 6:00 p.m. The DSWM will explain its tentative decision to issue the permit, after which the applicant's representative will describe the proposed facility. DSWM will then receive oral comments on the draft permit from the public.
If you cannot attend the hearing:
The public is also invited to submit comments in writing to: Mr. Mike Apple, Division of Solid Waste Management, 5th Floor, L&C Tower, 401 Church Street, Nashville, TN 37243-1535; telephone: 615-532-0780. Comments must be received by 4:30 p.m. CDT on Monday, April 5, 2010 to assure consideration. After considering all public comments, the DSWM Director will issue a final permit decision and a Response to Comments, which can be viewed at the Oneida Public Library or at the DSWM Field Office in Knoxville, Tennessee.
If you call, please identify yourself as a TSRA member, and tell them you oppose the Roberta Landfill in Oneida, TN.

Here are the links to the TDEC site:http://tn.gov/environment/wpc/ppo/arap/PH2009_024.pdf
http://www.tennessee.gov/environment/swm/ppo/roberta760281ph030810.pdf
http://www.state.tn.us/environment/swm/ppo/roberta760281.pdf

Please forward this email to anyone who would help in opposing this landfill.
Kind regards,
Trent Ganstine
President
Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association
tganstine@comcast.net
615.598.4190
Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association
P.O. Box 159041, Nashville, TN 37215-9041
www.paddletsra.org

It's Was New

So today I decide to locate and follow a foot trail I spotted on my return yesterday along Lumber Ridge trail, and see what "new, unexplored" territory Junior Ranger Fife, that's me, can find! Well after being on it for about 10 minutes it became pretty clear where I was going to end up which was on Buckeye T. near the water tower. I made some adjustments in my plans and continued towards the Spruce Flat Falls w/ the intention of bushwhacking; which I later learned was not necessary, to end up above the falls. Being someone who prefers an easier softer route I tend to over think some situations and add to the work. Well, I added some work to this effort however it was a challenge successfully met and I ended up locating the old road/railway, the difficult way, coming off of Meigs Mtn. and continues; I was later told by two gentleman who passed me along the way, on past to one of the one-lane bridges on Tremont rd.








Dudes! and Dudettes! What awesome falls up above the main batch! The section of falls which most people see especially in the summer needs to stay that way. In the summer you can't even see much above the main section and for the novice hiker the visible section should suffice. I look forward to learning more of this area and using what I picked up to today to travel new paths. Peace

Lumber Ridge

This walk began out of "The Institute" (Tremont), parking area and involved the Lumber Ridge trail, covering about 2 miles of the 4.1 to the intersection w/ Meigs creek and Meigs Mountain trails. The walk starts out with an incline right out of the parking lot at Tremont and continues to climb for the next 3mls. or so. The incline is not always steep it's just consistent. It can be tough depending on your pace and/or health. At this time of year there are some great views which begin less than a mile into the walk and this section also involves the steepest grades. It is a walk that is most enjoyable for me when I can extend it, reverse the direction and make it a one-way hike from the Sinks at Meigs creek trail and ending at Tremont. A direction and route I've covered a couple of times (1/09).

Blue Friday

Blue skies this Friday! On The walk up School House gap trail it was cold for a short section, say the first 1/8th of a mile or so. Then it warmed up and was quite pleasant 40's w/ sunshine, even in the sink. The trail was slippery and soft with melting snow and some mud.
And Dude! It was a good feeling as I found a spot in the sun in White Oak sinks beside a rock pile and remnants of old iron stove and I got still. It was extremely peaceful and I appreciated the time for quick personal assessment. Some birds were messing around. There were small ones, and I saw a Magpie as well as a large game bird I could not identify though it remained relatively close moving from tree to tree.
This walk probably covers close to 4 mls. over moderate terrain. Peace

Forever Green

Hello, if you enjoy hiking and camping in Tennessee, hunting or fishing in Tennessee, have a Greenway near your home, or you farm in Tennessee, Please review the link here by clicking the title of this entry. This Monday March 8th, at 4:30pm, in the Great Hall at St. John's Episcopal Cathedral at 413 Cumberland ave, Knoxville, TN., you'll have the opportunity to learn what the state ifficials did last year with the funds intended to improve these areas of interest and what you can do to make sure it does not happen again.
If you love Tennessee and our beautiful natural environment, our parks and greenways, our wildlife areas and our clean water, please attend this important meeting to join the effort to restore the TN Real Estate Transfer Funds and Forever Green Tennessee. Thank You.

Snow Along The Middle Prong

This day began w/ a call from a fellow hiker asking if it was snowing in the Smokies. I looked out the window to see, since I was asleep when she called, and saw snow! So later in the day I got on the Middle Prong trail and seeing only two men who were leaving when I arrived. Aaaaaahh! Winter in the smokies! Quiet w/ no crowds and beautiful snow today!

Spruce Flat Falls

Hello, this relatively short walk (2.5mls.), in what has become somewhat more difficult over the recent past, took place Monday the 1st, between Tremont and Spruce Flat Falls. This reference to difficulty is probably due to the wear this trail gets consistently from visitors to Tremont and that the last two times I've been on it it has been slick! I commend the groups who were being led on instructional hikes w/ folks from the institute as some parts of the route would require close attention to where and how one steps.

The falls were busting as this picture shows and the "staircase" (top of page) was new to me covering some of the type of terrain I noted earlier. The trails are now posted w/ what appears to be permanent signage even though they are not on the maps. Though this tends to be the case for some of the more pleasant hikes. Peace.