Utility mulls moving cemeteries at plant to store coal ash
January 22, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
| Updated January 22, 2020 at 8:24 p.m.
by
Associated Press
FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2017 file photo, heavy equipment is used at an ash storage site at Gallatin Fossil Plant in Gallatin, Tenn. Fallout from the Tennessee Valley Authority's handling of a massive 2008 coal ash spill at the Kingston Fossil Plant in Kingston, Tenn., keeps growing. CEO Jeff Lyash recognizes that TVA needs to win the public's trust. That's why the utility has been holding a series of community meetings to explain its plans for coal ash storage and let the public ask questions. TVA is also creating community action groups for interested citizens to act as liaisons between the public and the utility. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
GALLATIN, Tenn. (AP) - A federal utility is considering relocating cemeteries within a Tennessee power plant's property lines to expand coal ash storage.
The Tennessee Valley Authority says it is currently seeking the public's input and assistance to identify families associated with the cemeteries on the Gallatin Fossil Plant's land.
TVA says the cemeteries were there when the utility bought the land in the 1950s. TVA says it is gathering genealogical and historical information on the graves.
The cemeteries are within a proposed expansion of onsite dry coal ash storage. Environmental and other reviews will be conducted if TVA decides to move the cemeteries.
The proposal to move the cemeteries is included within an Environmental Impact Statement accessible online.
