It's known for its cleanliness and beauty.

Now, folks who live around Smith Lake are concerned their pristine body of water will be contaminated if strip mining is allowed within 1,000 feet of the lakefront.

"My biggest concern is the water quality, this being the 2nd cleanest lake in the U.S., we're very proud to have it in the state of Alabama." said Jeff Baggett who lives on the lakefront.

An ever-growing group of concerned citizens is fighting a permit request by National Coal of Alabama to mine about 1,500 acres near the lake.

"Not only the water quality, the deterioration of our home values that we've worked hard to get up to Smith Lake, and have our pristine water ruined by strip mining is just unacceptable to us as a community." said Eddie Hand who opposes the mine project.

More than 200 people recently packed the Cullman county courthouse, where a detailed argument against the strip mining project was presented before the Cullman county commission.

The commission has since passed a resolution urging the Alabama Surface Mining Commission to deny the permit application.

"We have all sorts of environmental issues that have to do with the pollution of the lake, pollution of their air, coal dust, falling on the cattle farms and agriculture areas, none of that's been studied." said Marty Roberson who opposes the mine.

Another major concern is the potential damage and dangers on the roads around the lake, with an expected 60 trucks being used daily near the mining site.

Many others worry about the blasting associated with strip mining.

But, the potential impact is much greater than just people living nearby, since the lake is a source of water for the Birmingham water works.

The Alabama Surface Mining Commission director Randall Johnson says all issues will be taken into consideration during the permit application process.

"If we issue a permit for a coal mining operation, we ensure that that operation is gonna have minimal impact on the environment and the public." Johnson said.

The Alabama Surface Mining Commission will actually determine whether or not to grant the permit request.

"This particular permit application has probably generated more written public comments than any permit application we've ever had." said Johnson.

And, opponents of the plan vow to keep their comments coming until this project is denied!

"The summer-timers who come back up in the summer, this is the going to be devastation to them, the ones that bring the revenue to Cullman and the 4 counties that this lake resides in, so the revenue that comes in to those areas, those people are going to be devastated." Baggett said.

National Coal of Alabama issued a statement concerning the strip mining proposal which you can read on this page, along with a link to the mine opponents website, and detailed information about strip mining.