After nearly two years of worry and a seven month battle with a big coal company, the people living around Smith Lake are breathing a sigh of relief.
The Alabama Strip Mining Commission has denied the permit requested by National Coal of Alabama to mine areas around Smith Lake. In the decision, the commission says the permit submitted to them was incomplete.
Most of the folks living on or around the waterway say they're thrilled to have this behind them finally. "I'm old but I'm about ready to do back flips", says Eddie Hand. The retired Birmingham city employee moved up here about eight years ago. He says this was a victory that he was hoping for but wasn't really expecting. "As I understand it, this is the first time they've denied a permit," he says.
But lake resident Deb Berry says this is just one victory with many more battles to come. "National Coal still has mines around that lake. And that is where the 9758 water quality violations came into play," she says.
There is an appeal process. Messages were left for a National Coal representative on Wednesday afternoon to how they might proceed. But so far none of those messages have been returned.
