Aug 15
For More Information:
Monica Moquee - 541-521-1832
Ryan Bennett - 865-406-2964

(Up to date action report including photos is available at
www.MountainJusticeSummer.org)

Photo Opportunity, Photos Available

Reclaiming Appalachia: A Mountain Take Over

Zeb Mountain Destruction Halted by Escalating Anti Mountain
Top Mining Campaign in Tennessee

Knoxville, TN - As dawn approached this morning, activists
stood on an ancient Appalachian mountain in a dramatic
protest against mountain top mining. This is the first time
a mountain has been taken over in the struggle to protect
the Appalachian Mountains from the devastating practices of
mountain top mining. Dedicated citizens are blockading
National Coal's strip mine in scenic Campbell County,
Tennessee to halt the destruction of Zeb Mountain. Activists
affiliated with MountainJusticeSummer.org and Katuah Earth
First! are using creative non violent tactics to bring
attention to the modern atrocity of mountain top mining.

In an unprecedentated non violent intervention, individuals
are blockading the entrance to the mine by locking
themselves to a car on the haul road and sitting in a tripod
to prevent access to the mine. Other activists have locked
themselves to drilling equipment. Citizens are using their
bodies to create a giant “no blast” zone across the
mountain. These drastic tactics are being used because strip
mining companies are not allowed to use explosives when
unauthorized people are nearby. “Coal companies bend and
break laws in order to blow apart Tennessee's mountain
headwaters. Since regulatory agencies refuse to protect our
mountains, non violent citizen intervention has become
necessary. We stand for the preservation of the mountains,
water, forests, and communities of Appalachia” said Maria
Johnson of Kingsport, TN.

“These mountains are our homes, and they are being stolen
and destroyed by companies like National Coal and this must
be stopped. To put my body between the mountain and the
companies' machines may be the only way to stop them” said
Nable Wallin of Asheville, NC.

Zeb Mountain is located above beautiful Elk Valley in
Campbell County, just 40 miles north of Knoxville, TN.
(Directions Below) Mountain top mining practices involve
removing the tops and sides off mountains with explosives
and heavy equipment to access thin seams of coal.

“We are reclaiming Appalachia. We are calling on Governor
Bredesen to do the same by enforcing Tennessee's water
quality laws and ban mountain top mining” said Mere
Burton, perched upon a tripod in the middle of the road on
Zeb Mountain.
3 supporters have already been arrested but the blockade remains strong. Legal funds are desperately needed as more arrest are expected. Please visit www.mountainjusticesummer.org to use our paypal account to make a donation or send a check or money order to:
You can support those on the ground by letting National Coal what you think of their mining practices. Contact them at:
National Coal:

Phones - 769-3749, 690-6900, (866) 703-COAL (toll Free)
Fax - 691-9982
Email – info (at) nationalcoal.com,
investorrelations (at) nationalcoal.com,
sales (at) nationalcoal.com
jdavis (at) nationalcoal.com


Hourly updates, including photos and quotes available at
www.MountainJusticeSummer.org