Michael Collins

USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

WASHINGTON — The federal government on Wednesday banned mountaintop coal mining from more than 500 miles of ridges in East Tennessee’s Cumberland Mountains, handing a victory to the state and to conservationists who have long sought to protect the region’s forests and streams.

The Department of Interior said it is designating nearly 75,000 acres of mountain ridges as unsuitable for surface mining, in essence barring a controversial form of mining known as mountaintop removal.

“Today’s action honors Tennessee’s request to protect the Cumberland Plateau’s majestic forests, mountains and streams for future generations,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a statement.

“This is great news for the hunters, anglers, hikers and birders who come, year after year, to enjoy this incredible place. I applaud the state for their forward-looking vision that will help strengthen the local economy and help protect a critical watershed.”

The decision comes in response to a petition filed in 2010 by then-Gov. Phil Bredesen, just three months before he left office.

In its petition, the state said mountaintop coal mining would be incompatible with existing local and state plans and would affect fragile or historic lands that would result in significant damage to cultural, scientific, aesthetic values or natural systems.

The land that will be declared off-limits to mountaintop mining is in Scott, Morgan, Anderson and Campbell counties and falls within the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area and the Emory River Tract Conservation Easement.

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The state’s original petition asked the federal government to declare a 1,200-foot buffer — 600 feet on each side of the ridgelines — as unsuitable for surface mining. The petition included about 67,326 acres.

Based on public comments and improved aerial mapping technology that more accurately reflected the state’s objective, the federal designation actually impacts 74,968 acres associated with 569 miles of ridgeline, the Interior Department said.

The area is an important wildlife corridor, providing habitat for black bear, elk and numerous songbirds like the cerulean warbler, the Interior Department said. The New and Emory rivers also run through the designated area and provide clean drinking water to thousands of Tennesseans.

The designation does not impact existing mining operations within the area. Mining below the protected rides would still be allowed as long as companies obtain all of the necessary permits and authorizations.

The decision to declare the ridgetops off limits to mining brought praise from the state and from conservation groups who have been pushing for the designation for years.

Tennessee appreciates the “thoughtful approach” by the Interior Department’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement in handling the state’s petition, said Bob Martineau, commissioner of the state Department of Environment and Conservation.

Don Barger of the National Parks Conservation Association called the decision “an intelligent compromise to allow access to minerals while protecting the State of Tennessee’s economic investment in the wildlife management area.”

Sen. Lamar Alexander, an opponent of mountaintop removal mining, said the decision will help safeguard the state’s mountains without affecting mining operations in other parts of the impacted counties or elsewhere in Tennessee.

“This means these ridgetop landscapes — and the rivers, streams and forests that surround them — can continue to bring millions of tourists and thousands of jobs to Tennessee,” Alexander said.

The National Mining Association, however, called the Interior Department’s announcement “yet another unwarranted blow to our ability to responsibly utilize this nation’s domestic resources.”

The designation is based on “a flawed petition” that failed to make the case for why the vast area in East Tennessee is more deserving of protection than others and uses a part of federal law that never contemplated land withdrawals of this size, said Ashley Burke, the mining association’s spokeswoman.

“The U.S. already has the toughest, most comprehensive environmental regulations in the world, and there is therefore no need to resort to arbitrary and unwarranted land withdrawals,” Burke said. “This sets a dangerous precedent for administrative overreach that risks placing otherwise eligible lands off-limits to mining without any fact-based justification.”

Mountaintop removal is a form of surface coal mining in which the top of a mountain is blasted away so workers can reach coal seams. The rubble is then dumped into adjacent valleys.

The process allows coal companies to economically reach coal seams otherwise too small to mine near the tops of ridges. But detractors argue the environmental effects and the impact on nearby communities can be devastating, sometimes resulting in the loss or pollution of drinking water.

Under Wednesday’s decision, haul roads that need to cross ridgelines to provide access to a permitted mining site would still be allowed.

The decision also makes a limited exception for remining activities, which will be restricted to proposals that will provide environmental benefits, such as reclaiming abandoned mine lands, and reducing the impacts of acid mine drainage and residual sedimentation.