Governor Issues Order Against TVA Following Spill

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen and Environment and Conservation Commissioner Jim Fyke announced today the issuance of an Enforcement Order against TVA pertaining to ongoing cleanup activities in Kingston and the stability of other TVA sites in Tennessee. The Order was issued in follow-up to Bredesen's directives for ongoing state involvement in the response effort and his call for greater regulatory oversight of TVA.

"I am committed to making sure this spill is cleaned up and doing everything we can to prevent any similar situation in the future," said Bredesen. "I'm also committed to making sure Tennessee taxpayers don't foot the bill. This Order requires TVA to reimburse the Department of Environment and Conservation for expenses incurred overseeing cleanup and further investigative activities."

The Order also requires TVA's cooperation with the state in supporting independent assessments and inspections at Kingston and other TVA coal-waste sites around the state as well as the development of a corrective action plan detailing the steps TVA will take to clean up the Kingston site and ensure safe operations in the future.

The Order does not relieve TVA of other obligations imposed by the Tennessee Water Quality Control Act or any other state or federal law. Nor does it forego any future action by the Department of Environment and Conservation to seek penalties, fines or other appropriate relief under the law.

"We have been on scene since this spill happened on Dec. 22 and will stay engaged over the long-term to make sure cleanup is done with the health of the local community and the environment as our priorities," said Fyke. "We are conducting independent sampling of air, drinking water, river water, and soil and ash and coordinating closely with the Tennessee Department of Health for the protection of impacted citizens."

To date, daily water samples collected at the Kingston and Rockwood water treatment plans indicate municipal water supplies continue to be safe. The Department of Environment and Conservation is also continuing to test private wells within a four mile radius of the site. None of the results received to date indicate a violation of drinking water standards for the parameters tested.

The enforcement order, sampling results, monitoring plans and other information related to the clean-up is available at www.tn.gov/environment.