Personal message from Jean Carter Wilson, co-sponsor, 2007 Tennessee Environmental Council Green Tie Dinner and board member of the Tennessee Democratic Women's Political Action Committee:

TEC's annual fundraiser "A Green Tie Affair" will take place on Saturday, March 31, 2007 from 7-11 p.m. at the Historic Cannery Ballroom, One Cannery Row, Nashville, TN 37203.

This event draws hundreds of people from Middle Tennessee and is one of the most visible charitable events in Nashville. The party will feature a silent and live auction, wine tasting and live band. TEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (founded in 1970), so all donations are tax-deductible.

To purchase tickets ($75 per person) please call Ellen Koonce at 615-248-6500 or email tec@tectn.org. Sponsorship opportunities are also available - contact Kyle Duval at 615-414-3287 or email kdd926@aol.com.

Please, won't you join me in supporting Tennessee's premiere environmental organization? For the past 30 years, the Tennessee Environmental Council has been at the forefront of virtually all significant environmental victories in Tennessee. Thanks to TEC, Tennessee streams, air quality, and land use/conservation have been protected from pollution - a particular challenge given the recent explosive growth of population and development within the state. TEC has led the battle to reduce smog in Tennessee skies and to force compliance with Clean Air Act guidelines.

TEC's efforts have been successful in protecting the Great Smoky Mountains, cleaning up the Pigeon River, reducing pollution from TVA's coal-fired power plants, and preventing degradation of high quality streams and the globally significant Rumbling Falls Cave system. It's really nearly impossible to overstate the contribution this terrific group has made to the health and well being of thousands of species - including humans! - in our state.

In addition, TEC speaks for thousands of Tennesseans all across the state through its lobbying efforts. Support from TEC's members ensures that those voices are heard and respected every day in public hearings, during legislative debates, and by policy makers.

Here are some of TEC's accomplishments over the past 35 years. For more information, call 615-248-6500 or go to www.tectn.org Clean Air: Last year, the Bush Administration issued rules that TEC disagreed with and sought to have amended before being adopted by Tennessee. Subsequently, those federal rules were struck down by the courts as being a violation of the Clean Air Act. TEC served as a member of the states NSR Advisory Panel, and worked closely with state officials and the regulated community. The recommendations then were forwarded to the state Air Pollution Control Board for adoption. This work sought to reduce air pollution across the state; therefore, all the citizens of the state will benefit from the work.

In 2004, Tennessee had 18 counties out of attainment for ozone pollution and seven counties out of attainment for particulate matter. TEC has been a strong voice for greater controls on the sources of emissions that cause these pollution problems. TEC has pushed the Environmental Protection Agency to establish stronger protections.

TEC participated in press conferences for the release of the Tennessee Clean Air Task Force?s September 2000 report Death, Disease and Dirty Power linking particulate matter emissions from power plants to health effects in people.

TEC was awarded the 1997 Clean Air Award from the American Lung Association for help in the promotion of lung health and the fight against lung disease.

Clean Water: TEC, acting in its capacity as the lead environmental organization on the state?s CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) Advisory Board, continued to work to improve the rules for operating CAFOs and to prevent siting of new CAFOs in unsuitable locations. This work included oversight of CAFO applications, litigation to prevent CAFOs and work with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the Water Pollution Control Board to improve management of agricultural pollution. TEC continues to work to see that Tennessee has strict regulations that will prevent pollution from CAFOs, especially the threat of catastrophic dumps of untreated sewage into water ways. Those people in rural communities where agriculture is a dominant economic activity (more than 50 counties in TN) will benefit from this protection of ground and surface water supplies. TEC received grants from the World Wildlife Fund and from Patagonia, Inc. to work on this issue.

In 2006, TEC worked as part of a larger coalition of groups focused on improving water quality in the state and was instrumental in writing new rules for consideration by the state and the Water Pollution Control Board. During the year, TEC attended 8 coalition meetings, coordinated with 15 other organizations an laid out a long-term strategy for addressing persistent pollution problems affecting water quality.

2002: TEC successfully led an effort to prevent wastewater from a sewage treatment plant from being discharged into Dry Fork Creek (a tier II, high quality stream) and the Rumbling Falls Cave system in Fall Creek Falls State Park.

2001: TEC served as co-host at the Clean Water Summit at the Scarritt Bennett Center and provided workshops for the community on water quality issues.

1995: TEC won the largest settlement to date in a federal Clean Water Act citizen suit — $1.125 million — against the Dana Corporation for violations of its water discharge permit involving the discharge of lead into tributaries of the Duck River. The $1.125 million settlement funded the Tennessee Environmental Endowment, a new nonprofit corporation dedicated to reducing pollution into the watersheds into which Dana discharges and reducing lead uptake by fish and wildlife in Tennessee.

Land: Conservation Easements ? The TN Conservation Easement Act allowed any citizen to intervene to protect an existing easement. This statute was cited by the appeals court that ruled in our favor in a high-profile wetland destruction case in Chattanooga. As a result, any citizens in the state who want conservation easements protected may cite this case as reason for standing to keep these lands in conservation.

In 2003, TEC served as a lead organizer in the movement to preserve the Wetlands and State Parks Land Acquisitions Fund, which had been in danger of being eliminated from the state budget with all funds rerouted to the general fund. The Fund is the state?s mechanism for leveraging the matching funds used to preserve wetlands and acquire new park lands.

In 2002, TEC launched an innovative program to partner with houses of faith and social justice organizations in environmental stewardship efforts, resulting in presentations and mini-courses on environmental stewardship at congregations in Davidson County; new collaborative projects with local community gardening, recycling, and food security efforts; and media coverage in the Tennessean, the City Paper and the Scene. TEC hosted an Earth Day Symposium with former Vice President Al Gore in 2002.

2001: TEC hosted an art exhibit together with the Alaska Coalition of Tennessee featuring the work of (TDWPac board member) Juliana Ericson and her vision of the majesty of Alaska to raise awareness about the importance of safeguarding the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling.

Public Health: In 2002, TEC co-sponsored a forum on the environment and public health for the general public and for health care professionals in collaboration with the Vanderbilt Center on Molecular Toxicology and the Trust for America?s Health to raise public awareness of the need for a stronger public health system infrastructure, particularly a health-tracking system.

In 1996, TEC worked with the state Environmental Action Fund (EAF), a coalition of environmental organizations, to accomplish several legislative victories, including a bill adding an environmental representative to the Air Pollution Control Board and the Water Quality Control Board, and an amendment to the Solid Waste Act to allow TEC to nominate the environmental representative to the Solid Waste Advisory Committee.

History of TEC - 1970s and 1980s

The early 1970s was a time of extraordinary growth for community-based environmental organizations like TEC that were forming in order to respond to foundational pieces of environmental legislation established by Congress such as the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. TEC was founded in 1970 by six community groups: the League of Women Voters, the Junior League of Nashville, the Tennessee Lung Association, the Tennessee Conservation League, the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs, and the Tennessee Botanical Gardens and Fine Arts Center (Cheekwood). At this time, the organization was truly a "council" — it functioned as an umbrella organization for dozens of member groups, providing coordination and communications among the members. The member groups devoted their resources to lobbying and advocacy, while TEC provided environmental education both for the general public and for legislators drafting legislation to implement the new federal environmental laws.

During the 1970s, TEC successfully grew the organization financially and programmatically. Part of TEC?s support came from private membership sources and donors. In addition, the EPA and the Department of Energy supplied TEC with significant grants, including a $100,000 grant from the DOE for education on energy resources and solar power. These contributions allowed TEC to develop its capacities for education and community organizing, and TEC soon became well-known and respected for its workshops, its monthly newsletter, and its reliable, sound advice to regulators. In 1973, TEC hosted the first annual "Intergroup" meeting of concerned citizens and environmentalists, later to be called the "Tennessee Environmental Congress". This yearly gathering provided workshops on critical state environmental issues and an opportunity to set a statewide agenda for the state government and legislature.

TEC was born at a time when a new branch of environmentalism was emerging in the United States. Traditional environmentalism handed down by great conservationists like John Muir focused on land conservation, forest and parks protection, and the preservation of wilderness. Yet as air, water, and land pollution problems mounted, new approaches were needed to meet these new challenges. TEC devoted much of its efforts to this new area of environmental work by concentrating its programming on air quality, water quality, hazardous waste reduction, and toxic pollution reduction. It focused on the protection and preservation of local natural spaces such as community natural areas, parks, trails, and rivers. A significant amount of time was devoted to surface mining issues both before and after the Surface Mining Act.

Gradually TEC devoted greater resources to activism. In 1977, the organization initiated a law suit against TVA to force TVA to comply with the federal Clean Air Act. TEC won the suit, forcing TVA to reduce its emission of acid rain-making sulfur dioxide by one million pounds per year. In 1980, TEC led the successful effort to ban lead-acid batteries from land fills and incinerators. These early victories helped shape the direction, mission, and abilities of the organization for years to come, and TEC went on to many more successful endeavors in environmental protection and leadership in Tennessee.

PLEASE, CONSIDER JOINING US AT THE GREEN TIE DINNER! THE HEALTH OF TENNESSEE'S ENVIRONMENT DEPENDS ON YOU!

Jean Carter Wilson, 615-372-1578 or Jean.C.Wilson@volunteersforchange.com