A new report says coal ash water contamination across the nation is much worse than has been previously estimated.
The report, by Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice and the Sierra Club, identifies 39 additional toxic sites in 21 states including Tennessee, where a spill in Kingston dumped more than 1 billion gallons of coal ash in December 2008.
The report lists three new TVA ash ponds as sites where pollution damage also has been documented: TVA Shawnee, TVA Cumberland and TVA Gallatin.
The ash sites drain into large rivers – the Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee, respectively, according to the report.
A “people’s hearing” on upcoming EPA rulemaking will be heard in Kingston in coming weeks, the organizations say.
See Friday’s Times Free Press for complete coverage.