A trio of environmental groups has filed suit against the Tennessee Valley Authority, claiming the utility violated federal law by failing to properly evaluate the environmental and financial impacts of a proposed new gas-fired plant in Cumberland City, Tennessee.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in a Nashville federal court, also claims TVA quietly inked a deal with an international pipeline company to supply the gas-fired plant, even as it publicly went through the motions of seeking input on alternative sources of power to replace the Cumberland Fossil Plant.
“Tennessee Valley Authority decided to build a new gas-fired power plant in Middle Tennessee without fairly evaluating the significant impacts its decision will have on the climate, the environment and power customers, and without fairly evaluating carbon-free energy alternatives,” the lawsuit says.