Green Options » TVA http://greenoptions.com/tag/tva Posts tagged 'TVA' Mon, 08 Jun 2009 07:00:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en TVA Ships Toxic Coal Ash to Georgia and Alabama http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/06/08/tva-ships-toxic-coal-ash-to-georgia-and-alabama/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/06/08/tva-ships-toxic-coal-ash-to-georgia-and-alabama/#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2009 07:00:26 +0000 Becky Striepe http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/06/08/tva-ships-toxic-coal-ash-to-georgia-and-alabama/

Georgia and Alabama are now storing more than 1000 tons of the fly ash that leaked from a Tennessee coal fired power plant in December.


[Creative Commons photo by Jim Combs]

The spill, which dumped over 5.4 million cubic yards of toxic sludge in the area around the Kingston coal plant, was over 120 times larger than the Exxon Valdez. It destroyed homes in the area and contaminated local water supplies. Cleanup is still underway from the disaster six months later.

So why is the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) shipping tons of this toxic substance from Tennessee to Georgia and Alabama?

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]]> http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/06/08/tva-ships-toxic-coal-ash-to-georgia-and-alabama/feed/ Residents Sue Over Coal Ash Dump Disguised as Golf Course http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/03/28/residents-sue-over-coal-ash-dump-disguised-as-golf-course/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/03/28/residents-sue-over-coal-ash-dump-disguised-as-golf-course/#comments Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:52:02 +0000 Alex Felsinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/03/28/residents-sue-over-coal-ash-dump-disguised-as-golf-course/

Residents of Centerville, Virginia have sued Dominion Virginia Power to the tune of $1 billion for supplying 1.5 million tons of toxic fly ash to fill the hills of a nearby golf course.

The attorneys representing 400 Centerville residents claim that Dominion knew that the substance they supplied to the Battlefield Golf Club would eventually seep into the water supply. The suit also names the golf course’s developer and Dominion’s ‘coal-ash management consultant.’

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/03/28/residents-sue-over-coal-ash-dump-disguised-as-golf-course/feed/ Again? Coal Ash Pond Ruptures in Alabama, Damage Unknown http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/01/09/again-coal-ash-pond-ruptures-in-alabama-damage-unknown/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/01/09/again-coal-ash-pond-ruptures-in-alabama-damage-unknown/#comments Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:02:13 +0000 Alex Felsinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/01/09/again-coal-ash-pond-ruptures-in-alabama-damage-unknown/

The Tennesee Valley Authority says they have a spill contained near its Widows Creek power plant in northeast Alabama, but that the quantity of ash slurry spilled and damage caused is unknown.

“There’s been some release but we don’t have any information to show it’s from an ash pond,” said James McIndoe, director of water division for the Alabama Department of Environment Management. “We don’t have all the facts.”

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/01/09/again-coal-ash-pond-ruptures-in-alabama-damage-unknown/feed/ $5 Million Ash Spill Lawsuit Seeks Class Action Status http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/01/08/5-million-ash-spill-lawsuit-seeks-class-action-status/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/01/08/5-million-ash-spill-lawsuit-seeks-class-action-status/#comments Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:01:29 +0000 Alex Felsinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/01/08/5-million-ash-spill-lawsuit-seeks-class-action-status/

Lawyers representing owners of waterfront property impacted by the 1.1 billion gallon spill of fly ash from Tennessee’s Kingston Fossil Plant have filed a lawsuit requesting $5 million in damages in addition to class action status for all residents affected by the massive spill.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/01/08/5-million-ash-spill-lawsuit-seeks-class-action-status/feed/ Brace For Impact: Wildlife Study to Measure Ash Spill Effects http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/01/07/brace-for-impact-wildlife-study-to-measure-ash-spill-effects/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/01/07/brace-for-impact-wildlife-study-to-measure-ash-spill-effects/#comments Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:40:41 +0000 Marika Collins http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/01/07/brace-for-impact-wildlife-study-to-measure-ash-spill-effects/ TVA Coal Ash Spill Site

Officials at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) are bracing themselves for a long-term wildlife study at the TVA spill site. The area was severely contaminated after a massive release of coal ash on Dec. 22, 2008. The spill originated from a holding pond belonging to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston Steam Plant on Watts Bar Reservoir.

A large number of fish were killed immediately following the spill which dumped 5.4 million cubic yards (more than 1 billion gallons) of toxic sludge directly into the Emory River and surrounding lands. The spill occurred when the earthen wall of a storage pond breached. The scale of the accident is much larger than initially reported.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/01/07/brace-for-impact-wildlife-study-to-measure-ash-spill-effects/feed/ Water Contamination in Tennessee from Coal Ash Spill http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/01/03/water-contamination-in-tennessee-from-coal-ash-spill/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/01/03/water-contamination-in-tennessee-from-coal-ash-spill/#comments Sat, 03 Jan 2009 07:10:59 +0000 Becky Striepe http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/01/03/water-contamination-in-tennessee-from-coal-ash-spill/ The Tennessee Valley Authority and the EPA reported that levels of pollutants such as lead and arsenic were below safe levels for drinking water in areas affected by the Kingston coal ash spill. An environmental group’s tests had dramatically different results.


[Creative Commons photo by Andrew Ciscel]

Appalachian Voices teamed up with scientists at Appalachian State University to test water samples downstream from the spill. They found contaminant levels far above what is considered safe for drinking.

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]]> http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/01/03/water-contamination-in-tennessee-from-coal-ash-spill/feed/ Mean Joe Green #43: Want Coal? Expect Occassional Sludge http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/12/31/mean-joe-green-43-want-coal-expect-occassional-sludge/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/12/31/mean-joe-green-43-want-coal-expect-occassional-sludge/#comments Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:13:16 +0000 Joe Mohr http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/12/31/mean-joe-green-43-want-coal-expect-occassional-sludge/ The toxic coal sludge impoundment that broke in Tennessee last week is a tremendous disaster–and the finger pointing has begun.

I’m reminded of GreenPeace’s New York Times ad in 1990 after the disastrous Exxon Valdez oil spill: “It wasn’t the Exxon Valdez captain’s driving that caused the Alaskan oil spill. It was yours.” That’s not to say the drunken captain wasn’t to blame, but the consequences from the overuse of oil–much like the overuse of coal, are a fault of the demander (sounds like a Bush-ism) as well as the supplier.

Of course, when the supplier tries to save time and money by not constructing a structurally sound waste depository they are also very much to blame (I wish it were the homes and towns of those responsible for cutting corners that were flooded with coal sludge)–but we are not completely innocent either.

Before I am attacked for suggesting the victims of this disaster deserve a portion of the blame, let me make my point more clearly. I am saying everyone who uses abuses electricity is to blame (ie. most Americans). It is not our fault that we have a coal-based electric grid–that started long ago. But, we could use less electricity–much less, and we could petition our representatives to support the development of wind and solar energy, and we could educate others on how to make their homes more efficient. All of these measures (and more) would result in less coal sludge because we’d be using less coal…oh yeah, it would also mean less CO2 in the atmosphere, less mercury in the air and water, less asthma cases, and asthma related deaths, less…


…I wonder how toxic wind slurry is.

Related Articles (on the coal sludge disaster)

TVA Coal Ash Disaster Much Worse Than Originally Thought
Clean Coal? Storage Failure Covers 12 Homes, 400 Acres with Toxic Ash
Bush Ignores Clean Water Act in New Mountaintop Mining Regs
Tennessee Coal Slurry Retention Pond Disaster [video]

]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/12/31/mean-joe-green-43-want-coal-expect-occassional-sludge/feed/ Tennessee Ash Spill 3X Larger Than Originally Thought http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/12/29/tennessee-ash-spill-3x-larger-than-originally-thought/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/12/29/tennessee-ash-spill-3x-larger-than-originally-thought/#comments Mon, 29 Dec 2008 04:00:35 +0000 Becky Striepe http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/12/29/tennessee-ash-spill-3x-larger-than-originally-thought/ Authorities are now saying that the ash leak that devastated areas surrounding the Kingston coal-fired power plant in Tennessee is over three times the original estimated size. Rather than the 1.7 million cubic yards of wet coal ash, an aerial survey that the TVA conducted on Thursday revealed the flood was actually 5.4 million cubic yards. The spill in Tennessee is over 120 times the size of the Exxon Valdez.


[Emory River. Creative Commons photo by Chris]

Even before these updated numbers, it was the largest toxic spill in U.S. history. According to the New York Times, water in surrounding areas is showing lead and thallium contamination. These chemicals are linked to birth defects and nervous disorders.

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]]> http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/12/29/tennessee-ash-spill-3x-larger-than-originally-thought/feed/ TVA Coal Ash Disaster Much Worse Than Originally Thought http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/12/28/tva-coal-ash-disaster-much-worse-than-originally-thought/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/12/28/tva-coal-ash-disaster-much-worse-than-originally-thought/#comments Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:00:15 +0000 Taylor Shelton http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/12/28/tva-coal-ash-disaster-much-worse-than-originally-thought/ Tuesday’s initial reports about the coal ash disaster in Harriman, Tennessee at the TVA’s Kingston Power Plant turned out to be false. The Tennessee Valley Authority initially estimated the spill to be approximately 500 million gallons, although they have now amended their estimate to 5.4 million cubic yards of toxic waste, which is the equivalent of over one billion gallons. My initial guess that this was the largest unnatural disaster of its kind has certainly given itself a bit of breathing room. A slurry impoundment, used to concentrate the waste byproducts that come from washing and burning coal, containing both uranium and thorium broke, releasing the toxic material into the surrounding community.

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/12/28/tva-coal-ash-disaster-much-worse-than-originally-thought/feed/ Activists Detained For Taking Ash Spill Photographs http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/12/27/activists-detained-for-taking-ash-spill-photographs/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/12/27/activists-detained-for-taking-ash-spill-photographs/#comments Sat, 27 Dec 2008 22:47:47 +0000 Michael A. Weber http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/12/27/activists-detained-for-taking-ash-spill-photographs/

Two environmental activists were detained by the Tennessee Valley Authority police for photographing the site of last weeks ash spill. While it does not appear that they will be charged with crimes, they were unable to document the ash spill’s effects on the area and its water supply.

The men, who are from the Knoxville based United Mountain Defense, say that TVA has yet to release the water toxicity results. They say they have the right to take their own measurements and photographs unless TVA shows their results. “This is an issue of national importance,” said David Cooper. “People need to know if the water is safe or not.”

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/12/27/activists-detained-for-taking-ash-spill-photographs/feed/ Toxic Ash Leak from Tennessee Coal-Fired Power Plant http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/12/25/toxic-ash-leak-from-tennessee-coal-fired-power-plant/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/12/25/toxic-ash-leak-from-tennessee-coal-fired-power-plant/#comments Thu, 25 Dec 2008 22:41:06 +0000 Becky Striepe http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/12/25/toxic-ash-leak-from-tennessee-coal-fired-power-plant/ A breach in an earthen dike caused toxic ash from the Kingston coal-fired power plant to devastate over 400 acres in Tennessee. The Tennessee Valley Authority estimates that 3.1 million cubic yards of ash and water leaked from the holding pond. The sludge contaminated the surrounding area and is now moving down the Emory River.


[Creative Commons photo by Daniel Johnson]

Coal plants collect the “fly ash,” a byproduct of burning coal for fuel, in order to bury or recycle it later. The scrubbers collecting the ash are in place to reduce emissions so that plants can produce “clean coal.” Disasters like this certainly call into question how clean that process really is.

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]]> http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/12/25/toxic-ash-leak-from-tennessee-coal-fired-power-plant/feed/ Coal Slurry Disaster in Tennessee is Largest Ever http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/12/23/coal-slurry-disaster-in-tennessee-is-largest-ever/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/12/23/coal-slurry-disaster-in-tennessee-is-largest-ever/#comments Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:56:08 +0000 Taylor Shelton http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/12/23/coal-slurry-disaster-in-tennessee-is-largest-ever/ Unnatural disasters have become a fact of life dependent upon fossil fuels. The latest of these disasters came early Monday morning when a coal slurry impoundment at the TVA Kingston Power Plant near Harriman, TN burst, allowing approximately 500 million gallons of toxic coal ash to rush into the surrounding community.

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