TVA Spill Update: Worried Residents and More Coal Spills

Over three weeks after the December 22nd TVA coal ash spill in Harriman, Tennessee, residents of the affected area wait for answers – is their drinking water safe? Where will they go? Underneath the wet, toxic mess in their backyards is once-fertile land, now contaminated and uninhabitable. As workers protected by HAZMAT suits pick through the sludge, the devastated, coughing residents whose homes and property have been destroyed wonder if they should be wearing protective gear, too.

Nashville Scene News reports:

What will happen when it dries and whips over the countryside, spirited by the wind coursing through these East Tennessee hills?

But there’s not much they can do. Their homes are all but worthless; no one’s shopping for fixer-uppers on a hazardous waste site. And without ample nest eggs, few have the money to leave.

“The most we could hope for is TVA buying our property,” Brenda Bailey says. “It’s ruined. We don’t even have the money to relocate.”

Residents of areas where TVA plants are located are torn between gratitude for the thousands of jobs that TVA has provided in their area and fears about pollution. Some locals are holding on to the hope that the Kingston spill was truly an accident and was not caused by TVA cutting corners to save money, while others angrily decry what they see as the sacrifice of their safety for higher profits.

One week ago today, as much as 10,000 gallons of coal waste spilled into Widows Creek in northeastern Alabama – at another plant owned by TVA. Claiming that it poses no threat to human health, TVA blamed a leaking pipe for the calcium sulfate spill and dismissed concerns about whether drinking water in the area was affected. Lab test results are expected on Monday.

The Huffington Post is reporting that yet another coal spill has occurred – this time, rather than coal ash sludge, it’s 110 tons of coal spilled next to New River in Scott County, Tennessee after a train overturned. This third spill is not connected to TVA, but does provide another sobering reminder of the danger that coal poses to the human health and the environment.

TennesseeGreen.com is reporting on the reaction of environmental groups and members of Congress:

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works

“The Tennessee Valley Authority has a lot to answer for – the first step is to prevent further spills and damage to communities around its plants. I have asked the TVA for a complete assessment of the safety of its waste disposal sites and their plans for upgrading those sites. This second pollution spill must be a wakeup message to the TVA and to the U.S. EPA that the current situation is unacceptable.”

Bruce Nilles, Director of the Sierra Club’s National Coal Campaign

“Even as residents in Roane County Tennessee are still trying to grasp the full impact of the Kingston disaster, communities in northeastern Alabama are now threatened with a new toxic coal waste spill.

“While initial accounts indicate that this latest spill is smaller than the Tennessee disaster, we hope that TVA and EPA have learned from the Tennessee disaster and move quickly to protect residents….

“Clearly current regulations are not adequate. We need the Environmental Protection Agency to start regulating coal ash before more communities are put at risk.”

The good news is, the US House of Representatives is moving forward on fly ash regulation after the Kingston spill made the entire country aware of just how dangerous this coal waste product can be. U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia filed legislation on Wednesday requiring that federal standards be put in place for coal ash ponds and other members of Congress are questioning why the EPA has not regulated coal ash in the past. Obama’s EPA nominee, Lisa Jackson, pledges to assess the situation in depth and look at strict regulation.

TVA has also been ordered by a federal judge to clean up four coal-fired plants in Eastern Tennessee and Alabama, which have been fouling the air in nearby Western North Carolina. Emissions from the plant were found to unreasonably interfere with the rights of North Carolina citizens, affecting health, the local economy and natural resources. The plants will now be required to use year-round pollution controls.

The coal industry must be held responsible for the damage they’re doing. We can’t continue to let them get away with things like this.

If you want to help the cleanup effort in Tennessee, please contact United Mountain Defense. They are currently in need of donations for HAZMAT respirators and independent air monitors.

Link [Nashville Scene News] + [The Huffington Post] + [TennesseeGreen] + [Knox News] + [CNN]
Photo credit: United Mountain Defense

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