According to a news report by the Associated Press, “The Environmental Protection Agency has described the spill as’ ‘one of the worst environmental disasters of its kind.’” To put things in perspective with another recent environmental catastrophe, the BP oil spill released about 206 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over the course of nearly five months. The TVA coal ash spill released more than a billion gallons of toxic sludge over 300 acres in East Tennessee within the course of minutes.

The cleanup efforts, which have been ongoing since the spill and are expected to cost around $1.2 billion, include the removal of more than 3.5 million cubic yards of ash and sediment from the Emory River, providing funding for a community betterment foundation for Roane County, and providing health screenings to affected residents. Coal ash contains such toxins as arsenic, lead, mercury and other heavy metals.

Beasley Allen attorneys are working with counsel for Plaintiffs in the other four lawsuits that have been consolidated for this bench trial. The litigation involves more than 230 Plaintiffs.

“After nearly three years, the residents and property owners affected by the coal ash spill are now getting their chance to hold TVA accountable for the destruction of their very way of life,” Beasley Allen lawyer David Byrne says.

TVA continues to argue that it is not liable for the spill, and according to the AP report says that “under Tennessee law it has no legal duty to keep its reservoirs and shorelines safe for the plaintiffs’ recreational use and enjoyment.”

Parties will make opening arguments and testimony will begin on Monday.

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › Trial underway to determine liability in TVA coal ash spill litigation

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.

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › TVA hit with $11.5 million fine as a result of Tennessee coal ash spill

The memo was apparently sent to the AP by accident, according to their report. They say the memo shows additions and deletions that change more alarming language to tone down the sense of urgency and threat resulting from the coal ash spill.

An example cited by the AP story says the word “catastrophic” was changed to “sudden, accidental release” when describing the spill that flooded more than 300 acres surrounding the energy production plant with toxic coal ash sludge.

While environmentalists are pointing to the memo as evidence that TVA is trying to cover up the seriousness of the situation, TVA representatives say that they were simply trying to present accurate information as they understood it at the beginning of the crisis, the AP reports. As the situation developed, the TVA says it modified its information to upgrade the severity of the situation, the report states.

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › Early TVA memo indicates effort to minimize coal ash disaster

Montgomery, Ala. – Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., has filed a class action suit on behalf of property owners damaged by the Dec. 22, 2008 Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) spill at the Kingston Fossil Plant. Located 40 miles west of Knoxville, Tenn., the plant released 1.1 billion gallons of toxin-laden sludge into a rural neighborhood when a waste storage pond retaining wall failed. The suit is filed against the TVA, the nation’s largest public utility, over potentially the most significant environmental disaster since the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Beasley Allen will be working with attorneys Gary Davis and Mary Parker in Tennessee, both of whom have Environmental experience. Beasley Allen has its own Environmental department to handle cases such as this disaster. The firm has handled previous environmental claims including a $700 million settlement with Monsanto/Solutia in Anniston, Ala., over PCB contamination, the largest environmental settlement in American history. More recently, Beasley Allen obtained a $20.7 million verdict against manufacturers of carbon black for nearby property owners, a verdict that was upheld by the United States Supreme Court.

Coal-fired power plants produce coal ash and other toxic waste byproducts. The material is usually stored on site in retention ponds or dams. A failure in the retaining wall, or an overflow, can result in an environmental disaster contaminating surrounding waterways, soil, and wildlife, and endangering human health and life.

There is ongoing debate about how coal ash is stored and regulated. Currently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not regulate these types of retention ponds or the materials contained in them. Surprisingly, the EPA does not consider the coal ash hazardous material. There is a great deal of debate over whether state regulations are sufficient to regulate these retention ponds, as evidenced by this most recent disaster.

“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, who specializes in Environmental issues. “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.”

There is a U.S. Senate hearing set for Jan. 8 to review the Tennessee disaster that will include representatives from the TVA and environmental groups. Beasley Allen attorneys have contacted Congressional leaders offering to speak at the hearings, and lawyers from the Beasley Allen team will be present in Washington.

SOURCE: Beasley Allen Law Firm

COMPLAINT:Official class action complaint filed in TVA case

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › Beasley Allen files coal ash spill class action lawsuit on behalf of residents and property owners affected

The EIP released the report, titled “Disaster in Waiting: Toxic Coal Ash Disposal in Impoundments at Power Plants” yesterday. The report says U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data shows power plants are disposing of high volumes of toxic metals in open lagoons.

There is a lot of attention on this issue now, following a December 22, 2008 disaster when the retaining wall at a coal-fired electric plant in Kingston, Tennessee, failed, dumping more than 1 billion gallons of toxic coal ash and other waste over 300 acres in East Tennessee. The event is being called the worst environmental disaster since the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

But the Tennessee disaster is just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to its official report, which listed Birmingham-area facilities Gaston Steam Plant in Shelby County and Gorgas Steam Plant in Walker County at No. 2 and 3, the EIP issued a press release stating that other toxic coal pollution dumps around the United States pose a greater potential danger than the Tennessee coal ash spill disaster site.

According to the release, at least 13 states have three or more under-regulated “wet dumps” on the “Worst Of” list for toxic chemicals. One coal pollution dump in Orlando, Fla., is reported to have TEN TIMES more arsenic than the Tennesee disaster site.

The release says the Tennessee facility was found on five of the six toxic chemical lists for the 50 worst coal-fired power plant pollution “wet dumps.”

EIP evaluations were based on industry-reported data collected by the EPA Toxic Reporting Inventory (TRI) data system for 2000-2006. EIP looked at the presence of arsenic, chromium, lead, nickel, selenium and thallium in the waste at Tennessee-style pollution dumping sites across the nation.

Eric Schaeffer, director of the Environmental Integrity Project, says, “The Tennessee eco-disaster has cast a spotlight on what is a very serious national problem – the existence of under-regulated toxic pollution coal dump sites near coal-fired pwoer plants that pose a serious threat to drinking water supplies, rivers and streams.” He said the Tennessee disaster is a warning sign of more trouble to come.

The EIP is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization established in March 2002 by former EPA enforcement attorneys to advocate for more effective enforcement of environmental laws. Read the full news release and official report:

EIP News Release

EIP Report: Disaster in Waiting

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › Ash ponds at two Birmingham coal facilities top list for arsenic

MONTGOMERY, ALA. – Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., is currently evaluating claims on behalf of property owners affected by a devastating coal ash spill in Tennessee. The disaster spilled thousands of pounds of coal ash and toxic waste across more than 300 acres. The event occurred when an earthen retaining wall at the Kingston Fossil Plant failed, creating one of the largest coal fly ash spills in the United States. The plant is located 40 miles west of Knoxville, Tenn.

Coal-fired power plants produce coal ash and other toxic waste byproducts. The waste contains such heavy metals as arsenic, lead, barium, chromium and manganese, which have been shown to cause cancer, liver damage, and neurological complications. The material is usually stored on site at the energy-production facilities in retention ponds or dams. A failure in the dam’s retaining wall, or an overflow, can result in an environmental disaster contaminating surrounding waterways, soil, and wildlife, and endangering human health and life.

There are coal ash retention ponds at nine locations in Alabama, including six coal-fired steam plants operated by Alabama Power Company. The Tennessee Valley Authority (T.V.A.), which operates the Tennessee plant that failed, also has two coal-fired plants in north Alabama that have ash retention ponds; and PowerSouth Energy Cooperative has a coal ash pond at Lowman Power Plant in southwest Alabama.

“Given that the Tennessee Valley Authority has similar ponds at its two coal-fired plants in Alabama, we hope that they are making certain that those ponds are sound so that we will not have another tragedy like the one at TVA’s Kingston Steam Plant,” said Rhon Jones, an attorney with Beasley Allen who specializes in Environmental law. “Residents and property owners near all nine coal ash retention ponds in Alabama are counting on these ponds to be safe and secure. No property owner should have to go through the disaster facing those persons in Tennessee near the Kingston Steam Plant.”

According to Alabama’s Department of Environmental Management, all nine coal-fired power plants in Alabama were inspected following the Tennessee disaster, and all passed inspection with no problems. However, there is some debate about how coal ash is stored and regulated. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not regulate these types of retention ponds or the materials contained in them. Surprisingly, the EPA does not consider the coal ash hazardous material. There is a great deal of debate over whether state regulations are sufficient to regulate these retention ponds, as evidenced by this most recent disaster. For the greatest protection to the public, we recommend coal ash should be buried in lined landfills rather than retention ponds or dams, to prevent it from leaking out and contaminating waterways, groundwater and soil.

SOURCE: Beasley Allen Press Release

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › Beasley Allen evaluating claims resulting from Tennessee coal-ash spill disaster, eyeing safety of Alabama plants