BHB/4/14
Sponsored by Oliver schimmel, Nicholas Burke, Miles Morgan of West High School
This legislation was filed in the Environment and Conservation category
Presented as part of the YIG Volunteer 2024 conference
| 1 | BE IT ENACTED BY THE TENNESSEE YMCA YOUTH LEGISLATURE |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Section 1: Terms in this act are defined as follows: |
| 4 | Coal mining: the process of extracting coal from the ground or a mine. |
| 5 | State Wildlife Management Area: a protected area set aside for the conservation of wildlife and for |
| 6 | recreational activities involving wildlife. There are currently over 100 Wildlife Management Areas in |
| 7 | Tennessee. |
| 8 | State natural area: a site of special biodiversity significance due to the presence of rare species, |
| 9 | unique natural communities, important animal assemblages, or other ecological features. There |
| 10 | are currently 85 state national areas in Tennessee. |
| 11 | The Nature Conservancy: A global environmental organization which acquires land in order to |
| 12 | preserve nature and wildlife. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Section 2: The purpose of this bill is to protect wildlife areas from the harmful effects of coal |
| 15 | mining, such as the pollution of water and the destruction of ecosystems. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | Section 3: If enacted, this bill will make coal mining within 5 miles of a state Wildlife Management |
| 18 | Area or a state natural area illegal. Coal mining within these areas will also be declared illegal. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Section 4: Additionally, coal mining in areas owned by The Nature Conservancy will be declared |
| 21 | illegal. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | Section 5: Violators of the laws described in Section 3 or Section 4 will be subject to an initial fine |
| 24 | of $10,000. They will receive an additional fine of $500 for each day that violations persist. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | Section 6. If enacted, this bill will have no financial cost to the state of Tennessee. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | Section 7. All laws or laws in conflict with this are hereby repealed. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | Section 8. This act shall take effect June 1, 2024, the public welfare requiring it. |
| 31 |