TVA hit with $11.5 million fine as a result of Tennessee coal ash spill
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) received word Monday that it will be required to pay $11.5 million in fines as a result of a December 2008 coal ash spill at its Kingston, Tenn., coal-fired power plant. The fine was levied by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation after the agency determined the TVA is guilty of violating state clean-water and solid waste disposal laws. The Dec. 22, 2008, spill dumped about a billion gallons of toxic coal ash sludge on the Kingston community, located about 35 miles west of Knoxville, spreading across more than 300 acres of land and contaminating the adjacent Emory River.