Kingston Fossil Plant Coal Fly Ash Slurry Spill - Response

Response

"We deeply regret that a retention wall for ash containment at our Kingston Fossil Plant failed, resulting in an ash slide and damage to nearby homes."

TVA spokesman Gil Francis Jr. said that the TVA was "taking steps to stabilize runoff from this incident." In response to a video that showed dead fish on the Clinch River, which had received runoff from the spill, he stated "in terms of toxicity, until an analysis comes in, you can't call it toxic." He continued by saying that "it does have some heavy metals within it, but it's not toxic or anything." Chandra Taylor, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, called this statement irresponsible, and stated that coal fly ash contains concentrated amounts of mercury, arsenic, and benzene. She added, "These things are naturally occurring, but they concentrate in the burning process and the residual is more toxic than it starts." Nevertheless, due to pressure exerted in 2000 by utilities, the coal industry, and Clinton administration officials, fly ash is not strictly regulated as a toxic pollutant by the EPA. Residents and environmental groups expressed concern that the fly ash slurry could become more dangerous once it dries out, but have as yet received no information about this from the TVA. On January 1, 2009, the TVA disseminated a fact sheet stating that the ash is "not hazardous."

Meanwhile, the EPA and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation awaited the results of soil and water testing to judge their response, while the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency indicated that barriers would be constructed to stop the ash from reaching the Tennessee River. By early on December 24, 2008, a flyover by The New York Times did note repair work being done on the nearby railroad, which had been obstructed when 78,000 cubic yards (60,000 m3) of sludge covered tracks. By the afternoon of that day, dump trucks were being used to deposit rock into the Clinch River to prevent the further downstream contamination. The TVA had also slowed river flow, for the same purpose. The slurry that was cleared from Swan Pond Road was brought back to one of the plant's intact containment ponds. By December 30, 2008, the TVA had announced it was requesting the assistance of the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the ash-filled Emory River to restore navigation. On January 1, 2009 the TVA announced that rather than attempting to clear away all the slurry, they would be spraying seed, straw, and mulch on top of much of it, "to combat dust and erosion".

Lisa Evans, an attorney for the environmental group Earthjustice (headquartered in Oakland, CA), spoke out against the government, accusing them of lax regulations on the issue. She also blamed the industry for ineffective safeguards, citing other similar cases. She stated that "The saddest thing is this is entirely avoidable. These people in these communities don't have to be in harm's way. This is not some complicated problem like nuclear waste. This is something the utilities know how to do." Thomas J. FitzGerald, the director of the environmental group Kentucky Resources Council and an expert on coal waste, told The New York Times that the ash should have been buried in lined landfills to prevent toxins leaching into the soil and groundwater (as recommended in a 2006 EPA report), and stated that "I find it difficult to comprehend that the State of Tennessee would have approved that as a permanent disposal site." Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen, on-site the week of the spill, acknowledged that the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, which regulates coal disposal, may have relied too much on TVA’s own inspections and engineering studies about the ash ponds and dredge cells.“Believe me, there will be a full-bore look at this to understand the causes of this thing and to try to make sure it never happens again,” he said. Concern has also been expressed by environmental groups and local residents that no warnings were issued to residents living in the area about the potential dangers of the site. The site may be slated as a Superfund site, although no decision regarding this has yet been made. On December 27, 2008 the TVA issued a list of precautions to residents, but did not provide information about specific levels of toxic materials in the ash, although Stephen Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Chris Irwin of United Mountain Defense told The Tennessean newspaper that they believe the TVA knows what is in it, due to the TVA having tested it prior to the spill. The TVA released an inventory of the plant's byproducts on December 29, 2008; it included arsenic, lead, barium, chromium, and manganese. Because the pond contained decades worth of ash from coal of several different types, it is believed that the area of the spill may contain "hot spots" of higher toxicity.

In response to independent attempts at sampling of the water quality and the taking of photos, the TVA illegally detained, for approximately one hour, two members of the Knoxville, Tennessee-based environmental organization United Mountain Defense who were traversing public land in the area of the spill, and cited three other individuals, warning them that any attempt to enter the public waterway again would lead to prosecution.

TVA president Tom Kilgore said that, in light of the spill, the Authority would consider switching the Kingston plant over to "dry" byproduct methods, which would reduce the chances of another spill. Five TVA-operated plants use this method, while Kingston and another five use a "wet" process. The power plant continues to operate, with waste being sent to one of the two remaining intact containment ponds.

On December 26, 2008 the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation stated that it was satisfied with the water quality in the wake of the spill but that it will continue to examine and deal with the potential for chronic health effects. Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen toured the spill site on December 31, 2008. The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees the TVA, held a hearing on January 8 to examine the disaster. The environmental activist Erin Brockovich was invited to Tennessee to survey the disaster site, and announced plans to visit during the second week of January 2009.

At her Senate confirmation hearing on January 14, 2009, Lisa P. Jackson, Barack Obama's choice to head the EPA under his administration, stated her intention to immediately review coal ash disposal sites across the country. Also on January 14, 2009, Nick J. Rahall, a U.S. Representative from West Virginia and the chairman of the United States House Committee on Natural Resources, introduced a bill to regulate coal ash disposal sites across the United States.