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Saturday, February 14, 2009

Environment - More on "Memo details TVA editing of response to ash spill"

Remember this ILB entry from Jan. 23rd, where the TVA changed a talking points memo so that "catastrophic" was replaced with "sudden, accidental" to describe the "release of this large amount of material."

Today the Lexington Herald-Leader has this report from Duncan Mansfield of the AP:

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The president of the Tennessee Valley Authority is trying to rebuild credibility as well as the site of huge coal ash spill.

Tom Kilgore now acknowledges the massive sludge flood in Tennessee last December was worse than the agency's public relations staff would say. He says, "It was a catastrophe."

That contradicts an internal TVA memo obtained by The Associated Press in which the description of the disaster was changed from "catastrophic" to a "sudden, accidental" release.

But Kilgore says he has checked the dictionary and the spill of 5.4 million cubic yards of ash into a river and neighborhood near the Kingston coal-fired plant "certainly fits the definition."

Here is Mr. Mansfield's original story in the Jan. 23rd Knoxville paper. It is fascinating reading and includes links to the original TVA memo, with editing marks.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 14, 2009 12:18 PM
Posted to Environment