TVA logoComing Sunday: A look back at the Kingston ash spill five years later
On the eve of the fifth anniversary of its worst environmental disaster, the Tennessee Valley Authority said Friday it will receive another $150 million from one of its insurers to help pay for the ongoing cleanup from the 2008 coal ash spill in Kingston, Tenn.
ACE Bermuda Insurance Ltd., a property and casualty insurance company, will pay TVA for a portion of the damages to nearly 300 acres of property caused when a dike ruptured and spilled coal ash into the river and nearby land. The insurance settlement, which was reached under an arbitration agreement between TVA and ACE, is believed to be the biggest insurance payment ever to TVA.
Previously, TVA was paid a total of $92 million from insurers for the Kingston ash spill, including $42 million from the Bermuda-based Arch property and casualty insurance company. TVA has one other insurance claim pending for $50 million from the 2008 ash spill.
Even if successful in its claim, TVA’s insurance claims will still pay less than a third of the $1.03 billion TVA has spent to repair, clean up and compensate property owners damaged in the Kingston incident.