Senator Yager urges TVA to help Rhea County due to economic loss from Coal Ash Spill
February 18, 2010

State Senator Ken Yager (R-Harriman) urged TVA officials to assist those who suffered economic damage in Rhea County at a hearing held this week in Nashville to update lawmakers on the agency’s efforts to clean up the December 2008 coal ash spill.  Officials from the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation appeared before a joint meeting of the House and Senate Conservation and Environment Committees regarding the spill, which released more than 5.4 million cubic yards of ash into the Emery River from an on-site lagoon at the Kingston Fossil Plant. 

     Yager, who is the Vice-Chairman of the Senate Conservation and Environment Committee, repeatedly urged officials of the Tennessee Valley Authority to “make Rhea County whole” as a result of the economic damage resulting from the spill.  He stated multiple times in his opening questions and remarks to TVA’s Steve McCracken who is the Kingston General Manager, that the marinas and resorts which contribute to the Rhea County economy were hit hard by the loss of business due to public fears about water quality.

     “I attended a public hearing in Spring City last year and was disappointed in the answers the marina and resort owners were getting from the TVA representatives,” said Senator Yager.  “This joint meeting provided an opportunity for me to press Rhea County's case.” 

     McCracken reported that TVA’s main goals are to restore services, stabilize and contain the spill, and to clean up the ash.   Approximately 15,000 yards are being cleaned up every day, with a priority on removal of the ash from the river.  Ash recovered is going to a landfill in Alabama.  He said that another priority is monitoring the effects of the ash on humans and the environment.  Water and air samples are being monitored to make sure the public is safe.  Officials told lawmakers there are no air or water emissions that are affecting the health of anyone on or off the site and that the agency will continue to monitor the area after the cleanup.

     “Progress on the short-term goals is being made. TVA has done considerable work to clean up the actual spill,” added Yager.  “However, there is still much work to be done to meet the long-term goals of economic reparations and assurance to our citizens that the air and water are clean.”

     Five other TVA plants in Tennessee also store coal ash.  These sites have been inspected since the Kingston spill, with more extensive work forthcoming.  TVA has paid $43 million to local communities in reparations for the damages incurred in the spill, none of which have gone to Rhea County.  The total cleanup is estimated to cost up to $1.2 billion.

     Senator Yager represents Campbell, Fentress, Morgan, Rhea, Roane, and Scott Counties in Senate District 12 in the Tennessee General Assembly.