On Nov 16, 2009 James Schroeder wrote

This a whole new ball game with a different set of legislators directly involved than in Hamilton County. I have not met with any of the Bledsoe County area representatives and both the house and senate environmental committees have a different make up than when we undertook our last efforts to get legislation enacted. As I understand it, there are existing laws which govern coal mining and it will be up to TDEC to enforce existing laws and regulations.

I agree we should do all we can to protect these lands but I don't believe there is much we can do legislative wise at this point in time since there are already laws on the books. We might be able to bring some pressure to bear via the legislative branch and the governor's office, but if the mining company meets the standards of the existing laws, then our hands are pretty much tied. A public outcry via meetings, letter writing, and newspaper articles might prove effective. I will be willing to participate in such an effort, but I personally don't feel in a position to push much harder than that. The last time around we got back doored in our efforts to get legislation enacted and I didn't like that one bit.

Jim Schroeder