We’re so slurry. TVA’s big pollution spill in Tennessee.

by Stuart Hampton, December 29th, 2008, 3:06 pm

Remember the Exxon Valdez disaster, when some 11 million gallons of crude were deposited in Alaska’s Prince William Sound when the supertanker ran aground? Well, another giant of the energy industry, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), has topped Exxon Mobil’s mess with a much more massive spill. On Monday, December 22, a dike holding back a mixture of coal ash and water gave way, resulting in the release of about 5.4 million cubic yards of fly ash sludge from a containment area at TVA’s coal-burning Kingston Fossil Plant, covering some 400 acres of Roane County to a depth of 4-6 feet. The 1 billion gallon toxic mix, which contained arsenic, lead, mercury, and other heavy metals, miraculously caused no immediate deaths, though it did badly damage a number of nearby homes and left the land adjacent to the plant looking like a moonscape.

Taking a lesson from the slow response that had accompanied earlier environmental disasters, like the Exxon Valdez incident, the TVA quickly sprung into action. Its President and CEO, Tom Kilgore, called a press conference the next day at which he announced that the TVA has reached out to affected residents with offers of housing and financial support. It also assembled a wide range of agencies to respond to the disaster, including the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Coast Guard.

The TVA folks deserve some kudos for practicing Crisis Management 101. The management recognized the size of the problem, quickly got out in front of it with an apology and tangible help for those affected. It communicated well with the media and got a multi-agency analysis and recovery plan mobilized in rapid time during the Christmas holidays. Barring revelations about maintenance neglect, or higher toxicity levels than have been reported, the TVA may be able to contain the disaster to the initial flood.

However, despite the proactive moves by the TVA, and the reassurances that water quality in nearby lakes is OK, some locals and environmentalists are not reassured. Dead fish are floating on the surface of affected rivers and lakes, and Greenpeace is calling for a criminal investigation.

A slurry state of affairs to be sure.