A research biologist from Wake Forest University told Tennessee lawmakers Tuesday that coal companies are already using explosives to remove the tops of mountains in the state.

The controversial “mountaintop removal” technique is primarily associated with mines in places like Kentucky and West Virginia, but Dennis Lemly says there are four active sites in northeast Tennessee, near the Kentucky border. At least one company has applied for a federal permit to open another location in the state.

Once the core of a mountain is exposed, Lemly says the material blown away begins to let the element Selenium leach into streams. He says studies in West Virginia show that poses a risk downstream.

“A lot of different warm-water fish, large-mouth bass, bluegill, croppie, sunfish, they were finding up to fifty percent of those young fish were deformed, downstream of mountain mining operations.”

Environmental activists hope they can get lawmakers to ban mountain top removal, at least above the elevation of two thousand feet.

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Selenium is used a nutritional supplement, in proper doses. Lemly says it becomes a toxic substance in amounts, as little as 10 parts per billion. He says the toxic effects are especially noticeable in gamefish, those sought by sports fishermen.

Lemly used this map to show current mountain top removal in the state.

The red dot to the southwest – the left-most red dot – is Zeb Mountain, on the line between Scott and Campbell counties. The beige circles, according to Lemly, show proposed mountaintop removal sites. The green triangles show potential sites based on known coal deposits, Lemly says.

Our previous story on the issue is here.