Press Releases
Click on "read more" to view the entire press release. To receive press releases by email, send your contact information to Christina Connally Honkonen, Communications and IT Director, .
06/23/10 - Report shows solutions needed to protect Tenn. waters - A new report issued by SOCM highlights solutions for water quality issues connected with surface coal mining.
06/22/10 - Coal industry costs state of Tennessee millions - A new report released today takes a unique look at the economic of coal.
06/18/10 - Tele-Press Conference to Introduce New Tenn. Coal Report - Tuesday, June 22, two unique reports looking at the real world impact of the coal industry on state budgets will be released.
Read more....06/18/10 - U.S. Army Corps Suspends Fast Track Mining Permits - A bill SOCM is applauding an announcement by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to suspend the use of Nationwide Permit 21 (NWP 21).
Read more....06/09/10 - Knoxville Press Conference scheduled for June 23 to discuss new 'Headwaters' report - A press conference to introduce a new SOCM report: "Heads Up On Headwaters: how surface coal mining threatens small streams, creeks, springs and seeps," will occur June 23 at Volunteer Landing.
06/04/10 - Rock harvesters: Still permit-free, consent-free - A bill that would have prevented rock harvesting from occurring in Tennessee without the consent of landowners died Monday, June 1 in the House Budget Sub-committee.
Read more....06/02/10 - SOCM member say, "Not in our backyard, Arizona" -
Coal ash – a waste product of burning coal, including that from the devastating practice of mountaintop removal mining – will likely have another defining title to tout in ninety days. The dirty waste material, the cause of the 2008 coal ash spill in Harriman, Tenn., has two fates under a new rule to be determined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): a subtitle C hazardous classification, or a subtitle D non-hazardous status.
04/08/10 - Tennessee House members silence coal ash bill
Today, the Tennessee Legislature killed an important coal ash bill in a House of Representatives subcommittee, successfully failing the Tennessee people and land again this spring.
04/07/10 - SOCM Hosts Green-Collar Jobs Tours in Tennessee
Members of Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment (SOCM) will provide an insider-view of green jobs in Tennessee during the SOCM Green-Collar Jobs Tour, April 13 – 29.
04/02/10 - SOCM Releases Statement on EPA Comprehensive Guidance Introduction
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency released a set of actions that will positively impact environmental permitting requirements for Appalachian mountaintop removal and other surface coal mining projects by reducing degradation of water quality.
03/22/10 - SOCM supports LEAF mountaintop removal bill
Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment has chosen to strongly support Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act, bill # SB1398.
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03/04/10 - SOCM Members Join National Event to End Mountaintop Removal
SOCM members, representing counties throughout Tennessee, will deliver a clear message at the U.S. Capitol March 6 – 10 in conjunction with The Alliance for Appalachia’s fifth annual “End Mountaintop Removal Week in Washington.”
08/14/09 - Victory for East Jackson, SOCM
On Wednesday, August 12 the CRA approved the East Jackson Plan Proposal during a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meeting.
