Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
Session 8.11 Environment
Session Abstract or Summary
For over seven years, Alabama's Black Warrior Riverkeeper has led a broad coalition in opposition to a coal strip mine at Shepherd Bend on the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River. In recent months, Hands Off Appalachia! has sought to provide radical support for that work by targeting Drummond Company, the coal mining company which intends to strip mine 1,773 acres at Shepherd Bend.
In the Appalachian region of Alabama, a large coalition of businesses, groups and citizens, lead by Black Warrior Riverkeeper are working to stop the proposed Shepherd Bend Mine from polluting a major drinking water source for the greater Birmingham area. Through effective coalition building efforts, Black Warrior Riverkeeper has received campaign support from all 99 of Greater Birmingham's Neighborhood Associations representing all potentially-impacted community members. The University of Alabama is the main owner of Shepherd Bend land and mineral rights that Drummond Company intends to strip mine for coal.
The Tennessee-based Hands Off Appalachia! Campaign has recently begun organizing around the effort to protect Shepherd Bend through the targeting of Drummond Coal, their financing and image through the engagement of mostly Black students in the State.
Presentation #1 Title
Protecting Land & Water in Appalachian Alabama
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
For over seven years, Alabama's Black Warrior Riverkeeper has led a broad coalition in opposition to a coal strip mine at Shepherd Bend on the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River. In recent months, Hands Off Appalachia! has sought to provide radical support for that work by targeting Drummond Company, the coal mining company which intends to strip mine 1,773 acres at Shepherd Bend. In the Appalachian region of Alabama, a large coalition of businesses, groups and citizens, lead by Black Warrior Riverkeeper are working to stop the proposed Shepherd Bend Mine from polluting a major drinking water source for the greater Birmingham area. Through effective coalition building efforts, Black Warrior Riverkeeper has received campaign support from all 99 of Greater Birmingham's Neighborhood Associations representing all potentially-impacted community members. The University of Alabama is the main owner of Shepherd Bend land and mineral rights that Drummond Company intends to strip mine for coal. The Tennessee-based Hands Off Appalachia! Campaign has recently begun organizing around the effort to protect Shepherd Bend through the targeting of Drummond Coal, their financing and image through the engagement of primarily Black students in Northern Alabama.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
William Isom II is a native of Eastern Tennessee and the current coordinator of Community Media Organizing Project. William is a co-founder of Hands Off Appalachia! Campaign and is a long-time worker for media, land, racial and economic justice in the region.
Presentation #2 Title
Hands Off Appalachia! in Alabama
Presentation #2 Abstract or Summary
In 2014, William Isom II and Natilee McGruder began organizing in support of the Black Warrior Riverkeeper's opposition to the proposed Shepherd Bend Strip Mine. Using techniques formulated in the successful Hands Off Appalachia! campaign against UBS, Isom and McGruder are engaging Black college students and residents around the harmful extraction practices of Drummond Coal in Alabama and Colombia South America. Utilizing traditional grassroots organizing in conjunction with newer tools such as social media, graphic design and youtube, Isom and McGruder are working to raise the voices of Alabama's coal-impacted communities with-in the larger Appalachian conversation.
Questions that will be addressed through the presentation:
What effect has the targeting of Drummond Coal's financial support had on strip mining in Alabama?
How has the active outreach to Black college students changed the language of anti-strip mining work?
Has placing a regional campaign into a global context affected the dialog of anti-MTR work in Appalachia?
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Natilee McGruder is the CEO of McGruder & Associates with a background in law and mediation. She currently serves on the EAT South Jr. Board, the Executive Council of the River Region Food Policy Council and volunteers as a member of the Alabama Food Policy Council, Alabama Water Watch, Alabama Rivers Alliance, Alabama Wildlife Federation, Coosa Riverkeeper and the Alabama Coalition on Immigrant Justice.
Presentation #3 Title
The Fight For Shepherd Bend
Presentation #3 Abstract or Summary
A large coalition of businesses and groups plus tens of thousands of citizens, are urging the University of Alabama System Trustees (UA) to stop the proposed Shepherd Bend Mine from polluting a major drinking water source for the greater Birmingham area. UA is the main owner of land and minerals coveted by Drummond for a coal mine on the Black Warrior River’s Mulberry Fork in Walker County. The 1,773-acre strip mine would discharge wastewater at 29 proposed points, including one 800 feet across the river from a Birmingham Water Works Board drinking water intake providing water to 200,000 people. Metals and sediment discharged from the mine would lead to decreased water quality and increased filtration fees for consumers.
Nelson Brooke will discuss challenges citizens have in opposing coal mine permit proposals in Alabama and the rubber stamp permitting process of the State agencies and US Corp of Engineers. The Shepherd Bend Mine is an stark example of this process, but not the only one. Issues of citizen involvement, destruction of forests, mountains, archaeological sites, streams, wetlands, groundwater and well water are all impacted by this permit rubber stamping system.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Nelson Brooke, a Birmingham native, has been Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s staff Riverkeeper for over 10 years. Nelson patrols and photographs the Black Warrior River and its tributaries from the land, water, and air, looks for pollution problems, responds to citizen complaints, researches and analyzes polluters’ permits, collects pollution samples for laboratory analysis, educates the public about the beauty of the river and threats to it, works to empower stakeholders throughout the watershed, advocates compliance with environmental laws, works on finding solutions to pollution problems, and is a spokesman for the Black Warrior River watershed.
Protecting Land & Water in Appalachian Alabama
For over seven years, Alabama's Black Warrior Riverkeeper has led a broad coalition in opposition to a coal strip mine at Shepherd Bend on the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River. In recent months, Hands Off Appalachia! has sought to provide radical support for that work by targeting Drummond Company, the coal mining company which intends to strip mine 1,773 acres at Shepherd Bend. In the Appalachian region of Alabama, a large coalition of businesses, groups and citizens, lead by Black Warrior Riverkeeper are working to stop the proposed Shepherd Bend Mine from polluting a major drinking water source for the greater Birmingham area. Through effective coalition building efforts, Black Warrior Riverkeeper has received campaign support from all 99 of Greater Birmingham's Neighborhood Associations representing all potentially-impacted community members. The University of Alabama is the main owner of Shepherd Bend land and mineral rights that Drummond Company intends to strip mine for coal. The Tennessee-based Hands Off Appalachia! Campaign has recently begun organizing around the effort to protect Shepherd Bend through the targeting of Drummond Coal, their financing and image through the engagement of primarily Black students in Northern Alabama.
