TVA: News Coverage by Amy Cowman MyFox Memphis

I want to thank Amy Cowman at FOX13 Memphis for her continued interest in the lives of the people affected by the Kingston coal ash disaster.

TVA spokesman, Gil Francis, as seen in this piece, had previously told news reporters that the cleanup would take weeks. That one statement revealed to me that TVA had neither the data nor the contingency plan for this scenario.

The older gentleman (with the white hair) in this piece is Paul Schmierbach with the TDEC (Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation). The TDEC is one of several agencies on-hand to oversee the cleanup from the coal ash slide. Listen to what he has to say.

Perhaps Schmierbach didn't get the memo from TVA management about the 4-6 week timeline.



Here's the piece Amy did on mom. (Note: this is not my sister Amy) Now, when they talk about how the water is safe, they're talking about Kingston's drinking water supply. They're not talking about the river water that was once our swimming hole. Because that's showing elevated levels of arsenic and heavy metals. You have to go searching for that information on TVA's website, you won't find that information on the front page.

Our section of the river has been closed off. You can no longer get in or out of the area by boat. You can't swim here anymore. You can't boat here anymore. You can't even go in your back yard because even though TVA is saying the air quality is safe (again, that's from spokesman Gil Francis) people are getting sick.



I think it's important to note that while people are getting sick and TVA continues to say the air quality is fine, it's the folks from the Sierra Club and the United Mountain Defense Organization that stepped up, went door to door with information and said, if you're having these symptoms you may need to get tested.

To be tested for any toxins in your system, it's $700 per person. The terrific people from the Sierra Club and the United Mountain Defense Organization not only got the price of the Toxins test reduced from $700 per person to $500 per person, they went out and raised funds so that people who didn't have adequate insurance could be freely tested.

The environmental groups are doing this for the neighborhood.

TVA management continues to assert that everything is fine and at "acceptable standards." I guess the real question is, acceptable to whom?