Response to Alabama ash spill

Montgomery, AL – Conservation Alabama issued a statement in response to today’s ash spill at a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) facility in Stevenson, Ala.
The spill occurred Friday morning and marks the second ash spill in less than a month at a TVA facility. 
On December 22, a spill in Kingston, Tenn. dumped 5.4 million cubic yards of sludge across 400 acres, burying homes, buildings, and heavy equipment. 
“For the second time in less than one month, the citizens served by the Tennessee Valley Authority have been unnecessarily exposed to a multitude of health risks due to a failure of a coal ash pond,” said Adam Snyder, executive director of Conservation Alabama.  “This unfortunate incident highlights TVA’s over-reliance on coal for energy production and a lack of adequate health safety standards and enforcement.  Conservation Alabama calls on Congress, TVA, and EPA to not only conduct an exhaustive evaluation of its current standards, but also to put into action whatever means necessary to ensure that the citizens of Alabama are not put in harm’s way again.”