The Tennessee Valley Authority is being sued for what environmental groups claim were illegal contributions of millions of dollars by the federal utility to industry trade groups that lobbied Congress against implementing environmental rules for utilities.
In a 20-page lawsuit filed in federal court in Knoxville, a coalition of a half dozen environmental groups charge that TVA’s membership and support of industry groups such as the Edison Electric Institute, the Energy and Wildlife Action Coalition and the Utility Water Act Group which have lobbied Congress against some proposed stricter air and water quality standards for coal and natural gas power plants.
“As the nation’s largest public power provider and a federal agency, the Tennessee Valley Authority needs to demonstrate leadership by halting the financing of groups propping up the fossil fuel economy,” said Howard Crystal, legal director at the Center’s Energy Justice program. “Instead it funds these groups to do its dirty work while it moves forward with building new fossil gas plants. TVA can and must do better.”
TVA insists that none of the funds it provides the industry trade groups that it belongs to are using any TVA money for lobbying activities.
“As a federal agency, TVA is prohibited from participating in lobbying activities, and the TVA board has directed that any dues, membership fees, or financial contributions paid to external organizations not be used for purposes inconsistent with TVA’s statutory mission or legal obligations,” TVA spokesman Jim Hopson said. “Like other major utilities, TVA’s membership in a diverse array of external organizations allows TVA access to specialized expertise and analysis that directly benefits all of our customers at a cost significantly lower than if TVA were to undertake such work alone.”