Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Roane County, Tenn., was once a destination spot for retirees and locals seeking a bit of quiet and some water recreation along the Emory River. That changed nine months ago, when a coal impoundment pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) coal-burning plant in Kingston, Tenn., broke, sending a 1.1 billion gallon wave of toxic material on to the neighboring community. The pile of sludge pushed homes from their foundations, destroyed property and contaminated the Emory and other nearby waterways. The TVA is engaged in a near-$1 billion cleanup, but city and county officials say much more will be needed to renew the community’s tattered public image.

“We are not trying to take advantage of anything. We didn’t ask for this. We didn’t go out looking for it. We are not ambulance chasers,” Kingston Mayor Troy Beets told the Associated Press. “We are trying to recover from a hit in the mouth.”

The TVA said it would consider local governments’ request for compensation. Local officials have drafted two options, one of which includes upgrades to water lines, sewer lines and schools, construction of nature trails, and a big public relations campaign that could total as much as $40 million. The nation’s largest utility also faces mounting lawsuits from residents who lost property or suffered injury from the spill.

“How do you recover (from such a huge environmental disaster)?” Roane County Mayor Mike Farmer said to AP. “You do something to make people forget about what today’s news story is — some wonderful announcement that says we are working on a wonderful new Roane County with a new school, new ball fields and a new senior center.”

The TVA is expected to announce this week how much it will pay to compensate the county.

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