Press Mention WLPN Nashville Public Radio December 10, 2012
SACE Referenced
Sludge-Spill Anniversary Stirs Call for Coal-Ash Regulation
In this mention
On the fourth anniversary of the 2008 Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill near Knoxville, environmental groups including the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Southern Environmental Law Center are calling for stronger coal ash regulation. The groups have released a map highlighting 44 ash ponds in Tennessee alone, as the EPA has made little progress in updating its coal ash rules since the disaster.
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Full transcript
By Daniel Potter
December 11, 2012
Environmental groups are using the fourth anniversary of a massive ash spill near Knoxville to raise the call for stronger regulation. The disaster at the Kingston Fossil Plant prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its rules for coal ash, but little has changed since then.
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, the Southern Environmental Law Center and others are trying to spur an outcry to regulate coal ash. They're putting out a map, and point to some 44 ash ponds in Tennessee alone.
Fly ash is what's left after power companies like the Tennessee Valley Authority burn coal for energy. It's often stored in manmade lakes, and when the earthen wall of one broke in late 2008, millions of tons of sludge flooded nearby rivers and countryside.