CMC Weekly News
12/29/04
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The Storms of September (2004)
From the far south Atlantic, two children of the elements were spawned And out of atmospheric heat to the East coast they were drawn. Two wild furies, a brother and sister each, swept across the cold, deep sea And pointed their wrath and destruction at our beloved MST.
No mild, mannered children were these For by the middle of September they had brought us to our knees.
The first one to visit was the sister, … Frances by name. A storm that weather pundits predicted would be rather tame. But the moisture she carried and deposited at our mountains’ gate In rain, by inches, would measure two times eight.
We surveyed our muddy trails and all seemed sound But seven days later, brother Ivan raced into town. A murderous gale that brought destruction galore And ripped up great trees that would cover the forest floor.
Then, to this south western corner of the Old North State Ivan’s winds were to arrive at a velocity of thirty-eight. To our mountain coves and ridges this monster would subjugate And to our surprise his rage was clocked at ninety-eight.
Like a well-trained pugilist, these siblings would crunch Our trails and footpaths with a classic “one two” punch. For the ground was saturated more than two feet deep And the great oaks were set up to fall like late summer wheat.
You can talk of heavy rains, high winds and of summer draught But these two hurricanes, like naughty children, certainly did shout. Of recent great tempests, like Hugo and Opal, mountain folk would recall But the storms of September would be the worst of all.
John Soldati Flat Rock, NC 12/22/04
The 3rd Southeastern Foot Trails Conference April 28 thru May 1, 2005
Registration and accommodation information will be posted here in early January 2005. Be a part of the third Southeastern foot trails conference at beautiful Table Rock State Park in Pickens, South Carolina! This conference will gather the leadership of the hiking community in the southeast, along with representatives for a variety of government agencies for a weekend of learning, networking, and fun! Another option is to sign-up for the American Hiking Society Volunteer Vacation to be held at Table Rock State Park from April 24-29, 2005. Help rehabilitate the hiking trails in and around Table Rock State Park all week long. Learn, hike, and meet new friends all weekend. It's a great way to get involved! The Southeastern Foot Trails Conference will open Friday April 29, 2005 with several full day pre-conference workshops on the following topics:
Several full day hikes along the Palmetto Trail and the Foothills Trail will also be available on Friday. On Saturday April 30, 2005, the conference will kick into high gear with a variety of concurrent 90-minute educational sessions. These sessions will focus on the following topics:
In addition, up to eight 60-minute concurrent Share Fair sessions will take place Saturday afternoon. The topics of those sessions will be determined by the participants. Friday and Saturday evening there will be great entertainment and plenty of networking opportunities. On Saturday night there will also be a photo contest. More details about the contest will follow in January ‘05. Call for Proposals: Get information on how to
share
your expertise and experience. Submissions will be accepted online
through December 1, 2004. |
Map Reading Course-CMC Education Committee
In early April the CMC Education Committee plans to have a map-reading course. Right now the plan is to have breakfast some Saturday in southwest Asheville and then spend 4-5 hours on the trail, learning how to interpret and use topographic maps. We are hoping to have one instructor for each 4-5 participants.
This is just a heads-up, more specific information will be forthcoming. By the way, we need all the knowledgeable map readers we can get for instructors. If you’d like to help, let Dave Wetmore know at dwetmore@citcom.net . Dave
The North Carolina Parkway License Tag Continues to Enjoy Success
"The Blue Ridge Parkway license tag is our most popular selling special background tag," exclaims Shannon Perry in a local license tag agency office. "We took orders for ten tags, just today." The tag census is approaching three thousand. How these funds are being applied for Parkway projects will be detailed in the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation's Annual Report, scheduled for publication in the spring. The Annual Report Issue of The Scenic is sent routinely to all Foundation contributors.
Slide Closes Another Section of the Parkway
A rockslide cascaded onto a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway last week at milepost 401, but Parkway officials said the slide should have only modest impact on parkway visitation and travel.
Superintendent Daniel W. Brown said the slide, which is mid-way between the French Broad River and Mt. Pisgah, occurred on a section of the scenic road that had been closed because of recent snows and ice accumulation around tunnels. "We often close this section because of wintry precipitation and ice, so this slide won't affect nearly as many visitors as do spring and summer slides." The contract for cleanup is expected to be awarded very soon.
TVA under political pressure Sen. Alexander demands further pollution controls at Rogersville power plant
By SCOTT BARKER, barkers@knews.com December 23, 2004
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander called on the Tennessee Valley Authority on Monday to expand its scrubber installation program to include the John Sevier Fossil Plant.
The agency already plans to install the sulfur-reduction equipment at its Kingston and Bull Run steam plants. Adding the Rogersville facility to the program would put scrubbers in the three coal-fired power plants closest to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Alexander, a Republican who is the chairman of the TVA Congressional Caucus, outlined his proposal in a letter to TVA Chairman Glenn McCullough.
"The quality of our air in the Tennessee Valley is unacceptable," Alexander wrote. "It is damaging to our health, to the scenic beauty of the Smokies and - because of federal environmental requirements - to our ability to recruit good jobs and to build good highways."
Citing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data, Alexander said the three plants together emit more than 200,000 tons of sulfur dioxide every year.
Alexander said reducing automobile emissions and using low-sulfur diesel fuel would help, but he maintained that TVA could do more to clear East Tennessee's air than any single entity.
"The most significant remaining way to reduce particulate matter in the Tennessee Valley is for TVA to reduce (sulfur dioxide) emissions at its power plants," Alexander wrote.
TVA spokesman Gil Francis said the agency had yet to receive the letter but that officials were familiar with its contents.
"As chairman of the TVA Caucus, TVA respects Sen. Alexander's concern," Francis said. However, he added, "TVA has no immediate plans to install scrubbers at John Sevier."
Francis asserted that TVA has already reduced sulfur emissions at the three plants by one-third from the numbers cited by Alexander.
Installing scrubbers at John Sevier would add up to $400 million to the $2.6 billion price tag for the agency's 11-year emissions reduction program, Francis said. Scrubbers are supposed to be operational at Kingston and Bull Run by 2010.
"In 2011, we're projecting the (sulfur dioxide) levels at all three plants will be 50,000 tons," Francis said. "That's a 75 percent reduction."
Last week, the EPA named Knox and five other East Tennessee counties as nonattainment areas for fine particle pollution. Many of the same counties are also nonattainment areas for ground-level ozone pollution.
As nonattainment areas, the counties will only be able to add new sources of emissions, like new manufacturing plants or expansions of existing factories, if they find reductions elsewhere. Further, new road projects must be planned so they don't worsen air quality.
East Tennessee has to meet new particle pollution standards by 2010. EPA estimates show that Knox County won't meet the new standard until 2018 at the earliest.
Sulfur dioxide is a key component of fine particle pollution, and the EPA estimates that power plants account for two-thirds of all sulfur emissions.
Fine particles - bits of organic or man-made matter less than 1/30th the diameter of a human hair - can penetrate deep into the lungs. Exposure can aggravate respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. The EPA also points to studies that indicate "significant associations" between elevated fine particle levels and premature deaths.
Alexander noted that visibility in the Smokies is only about 15 miles, down from approximately 80 miles under natural conditions. He also pointed out that the National Parks Conservation Association has named the Smokies the country's most polluted national park, and the American Lung Association ranks Knoxville among the country's most polluted metropolitan areas.
Don Barger of the National Parks Conservation Association lauded Alexander for focusing on cleaning up local pollution sources first. He called TVA's coal-fired plants "the elephant in the room" that has been neglected too long.
"Unless TVA cleans up these three power plants," Barger said, "nothing else we do will get us into compliance by 2010."
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309.
