TVA hit with $11.5 million fine as a result of Tennessee coal ash spill
June 15th, 2010 by Wendi Lewis
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.
The fine comes on the heels of a long-awaited proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish guidelines for the storage of toxic coal ash. Incredibly, there is no current government regulation of coal ash, despite the fact it contains dangerous heavy metals and carcinogens that can be hazardous to humans and wildlife.
“It is absolutely incredible that there is no real oversight for the storage and safe disposal of this toxic waste,” said Beasley Allen attorney Rhon Jones, head of the firm’s Environmental Law section. “Most of these retention ponds are not lined or reinforced, and it’s inevitable that potentially hazardous material will leak out. They just are not a long-term solution. It’s only a matter of time before the next disaster. These facilities are everywhere – Alabama, Tennessee. Communities are living under a cloud, uncertain of their safety.”
On May 4, the EPA proposed two different ideas to regulate coal ash storage under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The first would regulate coal ash as a “special waste” and would require the phasing out of wet storage at impoundment plants. The Kingston disaster occurred at a wet-storage facility, when the containment wall failed. Under this proposal, the wet waste would be moved to landfills. The second proposal would allow for on-site storage of coal ash, but containment ponds would be required to be lined to prevent any toxic materials from seeping into groundwater.
The EPA announcement comes after years of debate about the safety of coal ash storage and disposal, and it may still take as long as two years for any guideline or ruling to take effect.
TVA spokesman David Brouff issued a statement saying the company will not challenge the state fine, and that it was expected. He estimates that 60 percent of the spill has been removed, but that the total clean-up operation could take another three to four years.