The Tennessee Chapter invites nominations for candidates to serve on its Executive Committee (ExCom). You may nominate yourself or another Sierra Club member.
The nominating committee will interview and evaluate nominees and develop a slate of candidates. If you wish to be a candidate and are not selected by the nominating committee, you may petition to be on the ballot —15 Chapter member signatures are required. At-large members are elected to serve two-year terms.
The ballot will be published in the November-December of the Tennes-Sierran.
Candidates should provide a statement of interest of no more than 225 words that will be included on the ballot. Please send your nomination by September 10 to: Bill Moll at 404-401-7899 or whmoll@aol.com.
Tennessee News
Tennessee has a PFAS problem. The latest research reveals high levels of PFAS chemicals have been detected in Tennessee's soil and water, leading to demands for a statewide ban on using sewage sludge as fertilizer. Read the Tennessee Chapter's report here.
Selling TVA was a loser 60 years ago. It’s still a bad idea | Opinion. "It’s unwise to tamper with TVA’s public status. It has performed well in a broad role, including flood control and economic development, and its rates have remained competitive. The country faces exponentially greater demands for reliable energy for AI. There’s clear pressure for TVA to get behind a nuclear strategy to make this happen. Tennessee Third District Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R) recently weighed in on this and a forthcoming board appointment, also arguing that his desire for TVA is to “...keep it public.” That’s still the right answer." Read more by William Lyons, Guest columnist - Tennessean - August 6, 2025.
TVA board powers would go to CEO if Trump fires all directors. "Moul could temporarily be agency’s most powerful chief executive ever." Read more by Daniel Dassow - Times Free Press - July 29, 2025.
TVA nuclear chief chooses to leave after year of outages. "Tim Rausch, chief nuclear officer at the Tennessee Valley Authority, will leave the federal utility after a year that saw unexpected outages at all three of its nuclear plants. Rausch informed CEO Don Moul on July 14 of his 'intention to separate from service' no later than March 1, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing did not tie Rausch's decision to the recent performance of TVA's nuclear fleet, the third largest in the U.S." Read more by Daniel Dassow - Times free Press - July 28, 2025.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Trump’s EPA not to delay coal ash cleanups!At Bull Run, and across the U.S., billions of tons of concentrated coal ash particulates, heavy metals, carcinogens, and neurotoxins remain, unsafely stored, and leaking. 91 percent already exceed federal groundwater contamination standards. Now, the EPA wants to delay enforcing the 2024 Legacy Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) Rule we fought for – which at last regulated coal ash impoundments closed, as at Bull Run, before the Kingston-driven 2015 CCR Rule went into effect. Coal ash must be safely excavated and removed to high, dry, lined storage, away from people and waterways. Tell the EPA by August 21stnot to delay Legacy CCR Rule compliance deadlines – buying it time to gut the rule. Sign the petition here and refer to this handy guide for guidance to leave a comment!
"At 6:09 AM June 28th, TVA implodes the Bull Run coal plant's 800-foot smokestack. Its death rattle spews a final cloud of toxic soot over the Claxton community. There and far away, its smoke had sickened or killed thousands. The stack crashes into the dust cloud from the just-demolished scrubber that had replaced it when a Sierra Club lawsuit won a lifesaving 2011 EPA settlement with TVA over its Clean Air Act violations." Photo credit and description byTodd Waterman.
Environmental Updates
TAKE ACTION: Urge TV News to cover the climate crisis. Almost half of Americans get their news from television, yet major news outlets fail to name the connection between extreme weather events and climate change. Despite this lack of coverage, the science is clear that this and other disasters are far more catastrophic because of a warming climate. Send a message to media CEOs to connect the dots between human-caused climate change and unnatural disasters!
West Tennessee Megasite Authority adopts stronger zoning protections for Memphis aquifer. "The board controlling the West Tennessee Megasite — home to Ford’s BlueOval City electric vehicle and battery manufacturing campus — unanimously approved zoning rules Wednesday that require greater protections for the Memphis Sand Aquifer, the region’s drinking water source. The zoning regulations are embraced by Protect Our Aquifer, a Memphis-based nonprofit dedicated to protecting water quality in the Memphis Sand Aquifer that has been pushing for their passage for years." Read more by Cassandra Stevenson - July 24, 2025.
US Rep. Fleischmann wants Tennessee to fill TVA seat, lead in nuclear: Exclusive interview. "U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann has his eyes set on the Tennessee Valley Authority's future by filling its board and keeping it local, and the nation's largest public power provider is one of his major talking points this week." Read more by Keenan Thomas - Knoxville News Sentinel - July 31, 2025.
Tennessee electric co-op pitches plan to build power plant at West Tenn. megasite. "The approval process for such a facility could take two years or more." Read more by Cassandra Stephenson - July 28, 2025.
Recurring demonstration at the Townsend entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Photo courtesy Beauxjacques Alley.
What Would It Mean to Rescind the Roadless Rule?
By Axel Ringe
For nearly 25 years, the U.S. Department of Forest Service's Roadless Area Conservation Rule has protected over 58 million acres of national forestland from new road construction, reconstruction, and most timber harvesting. There are protected Roadless Areas in 39 states, including 85,000 acres in Tennessee's Cherokee National Forest; nearly a quarter of New Mexico’s Gila National Forest; and 9 million acres of coastal rainforest in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest.
On June 23, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that her agency is rescinding the Roadless Rule, calling it “overly restrictive” and “outdated.” Rescinding it, Rollins promises, will “remove prohibitions on road construction, reconstruction, and timber harvest … allowing for fire prevention and responsible timber production.”
Rollins is using two of Donald Trump’s executive orders to justify the move: One demands expanded timber production; another calls for making wildfire prevention and response more effective, in part by easing burdensome rules and regulations.
But these justifications betray ignorance about the lands the Roadless Rule protects and the reasons the rule was created.
The Roadless Area Conservation Rule was established in 2001 following decades of unrestrained logging that left an $8.5 billion backlog of deferred maintenance on its vast network of roads. The rule protected the best of what was left—acreage that wasn’t protected as wilderness, but that was relatively intact and undeveloped.
Rollins’s retrograde proposal doesn’t just ignore the multi-layered benefits Roadless Areas provide; it also ignores the transformation of the Forest Service’s culture and mission over the last quarter century.
The Roadless Rule revocation is part of a suite of actions the Trump administration has taken to disempower and deregulate the Forest Service, from mass firings and forced resignations to attacks on safeguards like NEPA and the Endangered Species Act. The Forest Service has lost around 5,000 employees through deferred and early retirements.
Undoing the rule will require a rulemaking process that includes public notice and comment and environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, as well as national Historic Preservation Act consultation with tribes and states. There is a long administrative record justifying the Roadless Rule. Reversing it requires a rational explanation that judges will accept.
In the meantime, all of us who care about forests and public lands need to take actions to oppose the Administration's actions and to support the Roadless Area Conservation Act, which has been introduced in Congress and would codify the Roadless Rule into law. Write LTEs, spread the word over social media, sign petitions, and write your Congressional representatives and senators. Remember these are your lands. They shouldn't just be turned over to the logging and fossil fuel industries.
Health & Justice
xAI in Memphis: The latest on turbines, power for Colossus 2 and plans in Southaven. "The use of gas turbines for xAI's Colossus supercomputer has been a heated issue both locally and nationally. In June, the Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of the NAACP, filed a 60-day notice with the intent to sue xAI for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act due to gas turbine use at the company's facility (named Colossus 1) at 3231 Paul R. Lowry Road. On July 2, the Shelby County Health Department approved an operations permit for 15 natural gas turbines at the Paul R. Lowry Road facility. On July 16, local environmental advocacy groups filed an appeal against the permit with the Shelby County Air Pollution Control Board." Read more by Neil Strebig - Memphis Commercial Appeal - August 7, 2025.
Plans for Southaven xAI site could mean more air emissions for Memphis. "Elon Musk’s xAI could use natural gas turbines in Southaven, Mississippi, as both a temporary and permanent solution to powering the company’s second Memphis data center. Last week, the company received approval from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to operate natural gas turbines without an air emissions permit for up to 12 months while the company works on its plans to build permanent natural gas generation at 2875 Stanton Road in Southaven." Read more by Samuel Hardiman - Daily Memphian - August 5, 2025.
Demonstrators at the Hands Off protest in Knoxville, Tenn. on April 5, 2025. Photo by Todd Waterman.
Want to stay informed?
Sign up for the Tennessee News ListServ to receive full articles straight to your inbox, curated by Scott Banbury. This is an invaluable source to stay up-to-date on the latest in-depth Tennessee news! Members can sign up here! Not a member yet? Join for as little as $15 here!
How Can I Create a Will?
By Mac Post, Tennessee Chapter Fundraising Team Volunteer
If you’ve asked this question–you’re not alone. Creating a will or other estate planning documents can feel daunting.
As a Sierran, you know: there is power in a plan. When we want to protect old growth forests, or help communities have access to clean renewable energy, or ensure that anyone can get outdoors, we need a plan to make things happen.
This Make A Will Month, we want to share a way for you to create your own plans. Giving Docs is a simple, secure way to create your will and other important estate planning documents online. It’s free for Sierra Club supporters—and it only takes a few minutes to create an account and get started. We hope you find this new resource to be useful as you craft your long-term wishes.
You can even use Giving Docs to create your Sierra Club legacy by naming the Tennessee Chapter as a beneficiary of your plans. Although this type of support isn’t required to utilize this estate-planning platform, any gift is greatly appreciated. If you have any questions, reach out to Julia Curtis at julia.curtis@sierraclub.org or (800) 932-4270.
August Events
Statewide environmental events listed chronologically. Do you have an event you'd like publicized? Send it to Enews.sierratn@gmail.com.
Sat. Aug. 16th, 11 am - 5:00 pm ET. Snorkeling the Hillbilly Reef! This is a snorkeling expedition in lovely Citico Creek, where one can see the beautiful fishes and other creatures that are usually invisible from out of the water. Citico Creek is one of the most pristine stream habitats in Tennessee. Co-leader Pat Rakes is an expert on stream fishes and invertebrates. We will also capture creatures with a seine for close examination. Sign up here.
Wed. August 20th - TVA Listening Session will be held from 2 pm to 4 pm ET, in the auditorium at TVA’s Knoxville Office Complex located at 400 W. Summit Hill Drive, in Knoxville. Pre-registration is required to speak at the event. The meeting agenda and instructions for signing up to speak at the listening session will be available by the end of the day on Thursday, August 14. Sign up here.
Thurs. August 21st - TVA Board Meeting. The Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors invites the public to join them in person or online as they conduct their quarterly business meeting at 9 am ET on Thursday, August 21. The meeting will be held in the auditorium at TVA’s Knoxville Office Complex located at 400 W. Summit Hill Drive, in Knoxville. A live stream of the meeting will be available on TVA.com.
Fri. Sept 5th - Sat. Sept 6th. Reclaim the Ridge Rally and Music Festival. A free (donations welcome), two-day event at the idyllic Lilly Pad Hopyard Brewery in Lancing, TN featuring "live music by The Local Honeys, camping, hiking, swimming, and even art-making!" Hosted by Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning along with Ridgeline Voices and SAGE TN, two grassroots community groups who are "working to protect Tennessee from the proposed Ridgeline gas pipeline." Learn more here.
Sat, Sept. 6th, 10:00 am - 9:30 pm ET. HBG Outing: Devil's Staircase Hike and Elk Viewing. We will travel to Cove Lake State Park in Caryville and hike the six miles to and from the Devils Racetrack on Cumberland Mountain, which overlooks I-75 and the Powell River Valley. After the hike, we will drive about ten more miles to Hatfield Knob where, after a mile walk, we can view the elk rut from a viewing tower in the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area. Location: Cove Lake State Park, 110 Cove Lake Ln, Caryville, TN. Sign up here.
SAVE THE DATE! October 4th - Chapter Garden Party at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville. Fifty years strong and still growing! Join Sierra Club Tennessee for our Chapter fundraiser as we celebrate volunteer of the year Dan Firth and our conservation award recipients. Look forward to an evening of live music, appetizers, drinks, and great conversations - plus a raffle and online auction to support the work that's been protecting Tennessee's wild places for half a century. Learn more here.
Species Spotlight
This month's featured species is: Ironweed (Vernonia altissima)
Photo by Randy Hedgepath.
Ironweed is a hardy wildflower which blossoms mid to late summer and can grow quite tall (5-10 feet).
Notoriously strong-rooted (hence the name Ironweed), it is so hard to dig up that it is considered a weed by some farmers. Cows and other critters can't munch on the tough stems.
Cherokee Indians used certain species of Vernonia to treat pain (menstrual, afterbirth, stomach ulcers). Kiowa Indians used Vernonia missurica to treat dandruff.
Ironweed attracts a variety of pollinators.
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Contact Us
Do you have a program or speaker idea for your Group? An issue you're particularly passionate about? Do you have a story idea for the Tennes-Sierran or the e-newsletter? Let us know! Look through our past programs for inspiration. Submit your suggestion here!
Questions or comments for Sierra Club in Tennessee? We want to hear from you! Chapter E-news Editor: Allie Stafford Photo Editor: Todd Waterman
The views expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sierra Club.
We are the Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club, the world’s oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization. With over 3.8 million members and supporters, the Sierra Club has the resources to empower people and to influence public policy through community activism, public education, lobbying, and litigation.
Our mission is to Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet.
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