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

Bruce Duncan’s family lives just three miles from where more than a billion gallons of toxic coal ash spilled from an impoundment pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) coal-firing plant. They watch trucks loaded with recovered coal ash pass by their house every day en route to other landfills specially equipped to store the toxic waste. The Duncans would like to move away to a safer environment, like many in the area have. Living so close to the cleanup has made them ill. They have frequent nosebleeds, frontal headaches, increased shortness of breath, wheezing, asthma exacerbation and increased chest pain. Their doctor also warned them not to drink the water. But unlike some residents in the area, the TVA hasn’t offered to help the Duncans, and they simply cannot afford to buy another home, especially when their current home has lost value since the spill.

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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.

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