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

Plaintiffs in three class action lawsuits have joined forces to fight the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and two of its consultants for compensation to cover unspecified damages and payment for medical monitoring as a result of the December 2008 coal ash spill from the TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant in east Tennessee. The amended complaint redefines the class of potential plaintiffs, which includes anyone who owns property in the Swan Pond community around the plant north of the Clinch River, anyone who lived in the same area when the spill occurred, and anyone who owns property on Watts Bar Lake from the mouth of the Emory River to Watts Bar Dam. Attorneys say the classification could add hundreds more plaintiffs to the lawsuit.

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The residents of Perry County, Ala., were just gearing up to file a lawsuit against Arrowhead Landfill. The landfill had entered into an agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to accept coal ash recovered from the east Tennessee spill site, generating millions of dollars and a handful of jobs for the very poor, predominantly black community. But residents argued that the benefits came at too high a price. Coal ash is toxic, containing arsenic and carcinogens that have been linked to serious health problems. To make matters worse, the constant trainload deliveries of coal ash to the landfill were literally stinking up the town.

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The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is facing 57 lawsuits from more than 560 plaintiffs over the December 2008 coal ash spill that dumped more than a billion gallons of toxic material on to 300 acres of a neighboring community. The spill destroyed homes, damaged property and contaminated the nearby Emory River. Several residents have complained of headaches, nosebleeds, breathing problems and heightened anxiety as a result of living near the spill site. Attorneys with Beasley Allen Law Firm are among those who filed have filed lawsuits on behalf of residents affected by the catastrophic spill.

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“How do you spell relief? COAL ASH,” says Perry County, Alabama Commissioner Albert Turner, Jr., in remarks prepared for a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. Turner testified this week about how the historically poor and black county is benefiting from shipments of coal ash recovered from the east Tennessee community where it spilled from a neighboring coal-firing plant. The problem is residents of Perry County are more apt to call the arrangement a nightmare rather than a boon to the community.

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More lawsuits have been filed against the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as a result of last year’s massive coal ash spill in east Tennessee, bringing the number to 14, according to a report by News Channel 3.

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Rules regarding the storage of coal ash are expected to come from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before the end of the year, but how the agency plans to categorize coal ash ponds has many environmentalists seeing red. According to a General Accountability Office document listing options currently being discussed, the EPA is considering designating wet coal ash as a hazardous material, but leaving the dry coal ash, or fly ash, categorized as non-hazardous if it is stored in a dry landfill.

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The hits just keep on coming for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). First, a massive spill from its east Tennessee coal-burning site results in a near-$1 billion cleanup, millions in payouts to the county it nearly destroyed, and mounting lawsuits from parties injured by the spill. Now, a Second Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated global warming lawsuits brought by eight states, New York City, and three land trusts against the TVA and other large utility companies, which seek to limit their carbon dioxide emissions, according to The Australian Business.

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The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is shelling out billions of dollars as a result of the massive coal ash spill from its Kingston, Tenn., fossil fuel plant that dumped more than a billion gallons of toxic sludge on to a neighboring community. But the nation’s largest utility is hoping a federal district court judge will grant it immunity from mounting lawsuits filed by property owners injured by the spill – a move that would leave those victims footing the bill for their own losses.

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The Arrowhead Landfill in Uniontown, Ala., may be the “Cadillac” of all landfills in the industry, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and dumping millions of tons of toxic coal ash recovered from a spill site in Tennessee into the landfill may generate several jobs and millions of dollars in storage fees for the impoverished community, but residents of the mostly black community are hardly thrilled. A standing-room-only crowd gathered Wednesday night to hear plans for the dump in their community. Perry County District Attorney Michael Jackson voiced the concerns of the crowd, saying he was tired of poor areas being dumping grounds for the rest of the nation.

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The Emory River in east Tennessee was once an area of water sports and recreation until dangerous coal sludge from the nearby Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) coal-firing plant spilled from an impoundment pond into the river and onto neighboring property. Now locals are afraid to enjoy the water, which has tested positive for arsenic and other contaminants by the Environmental Protection Agency.

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