Kingston coal ash families, county officials prepare for 15th anniversary of disaster
To mark 15 years since a dike gave way at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston plant, spilling more than one billion gallons of coal ash into a community that would be scarred forever by a hazardous cleanup, families of workers are prepared to gather on Dec. 22.
At the 10 a.m. ceremony at the Roane County Courthouse, a county commissioner will read a proclamation declaring an official day of remembrance for one of the largest industrial accidents in U.S. history and the workers who have died or become sick from illnesses their loved ones attribute to coal ash exposure.
This year brought with it a kind of closure. After 10 years of lawsuits, workers reached a confidential settlement in May with Jacobs Solutions, the international firm contracted by TVA to clean up the spill.
By reaching a settlement with Jacobs, workers and their families avoided a federal trial that would have placed a burden on them to prove their illnesses were caused by the firm's neglect.
Jacobs, formerly called Jacobs Engineering, failed to provide basic protection for workers and covered up the risks posed by coal ash, a byproduct of burning coal which contains potent contaminants including mercury, arsenic, lead and silica. TVA was not a party in the federal lawsuit.
In addition to creating a day of remembrance, the Roane County Commission set aside funds for a historical marker at the request of women whose husbands became sick after working for Jacobs. Some of the women are now widows, and they want Dec. 22, 2008, to be a date that nobody forgets.
"To me, it's like 9/11 for Roane County," said Betty Johnson, whose husband Tommy died earlier this year after battling multiple illnesses. "It's very hurtful that some people are still so sick, and it's hurtful that people didn't understand what they were getting into. It's just a tragedy."
TVA has said all contractors are required to comply with safety plans and that it vetted Jacobs' safety record, though in statements from 2019, it acknowledged the firm presented "contrary evidence" on its safety record during court testimony. TVA has defended its choice to still do business with Jacobs, though it said its contracts with the firm do not include day-to-day management of coal ash.
The Kingston plant is still up and running, burning about 14,000 tons of coal a day to provide enough power for over 800,000 homes. TVA has initiated public feedback on what the site should be used for once the plant is retired along with its other three remaining coal plants.
In another 12 years, if TVA meets its goal, the agency will no longer operate coal plants or produce new coal ash.
It is now more than halfway between the Kingston spill and the retirement of TVA's last coal plant in 2035. As families continue to try to heal, Roane County Commissioner Junior Hendrickson told Knox News the county's proclamation is a step toward honoring those who have died.
He himself worked in hazardous waste cleanup for decades and his father, who has since died, helped clean the Kingston spill. For him, the memorial is a personal issue.
"We don't need to forget our fallen workers," Hendrickson said. "I hope they can move on. I mean, you never forget somebody close to you that's died, you just learn how to live with it. That doesn't necessarily make it easier, but it just helps you get through."
The Kingston coal ash spill forever changed the way TVA stores the waste and led to the first federal regulatory framework for coal ash, created by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2015.
After a $1.2 billion cleanup that turned much of the 300-acre spill site into park land and put millions in investments back into Roane County, TVA no longer stores coal ash in wet ponds. Now, all coal ash at its operational and retired coal plants is stored dry.
End of coal era changes TVA landscape
It's a much different energy sector today from the one that created the Kingston spill. In 2008, TVA generated 62% of its electricity from coal-fired plants. Seven shuttered coal plants and 15 years later, that figure is down to 13%.
The quasi-public utility is in the process of complying with a 2015 order from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, which mandated environmental studies and corrective action plans at its coal plants. The order was also meant to ensure TVA followed the EPA's 2015 coal ash rule, which mandated groundwater monitoring and public webpages detailing compliance.
TVA says it has gone beyond the requirements, creating an Advanced Technology for Impoundment Monitoring system, the first and only system of its kind. It monitors coal ash disposal sites around the clock, delivering data to a center in Chattanooga described as TVA's "coal ash mission control."
In 2022, the agency said it sold 82% of the coal ash it produced to companies that recycle it into concrete, cement, drywall and shingles.
The agency is not off the hook from scrutiny over the alleged treatment of workers by its contractor or how it has allowed coal ash to be reused. Company executives have long since stopped making public comments about the spill.
Though there are disposal regulations, the EPA left the question of reuse up to states. Construction companies have used coal ash as structural fill, including at a playground in the Claxton community.
On Dec. 11, 153 environmental groups and 136 individuals called on the EPA to ban the use of coal ash as structural fill, claiming it posed a public health threat from radiation and carcinogens.
“EPA action is urgently needed," the letter said. "Immense volumes of coal ash have historically been used as fill in the U.S. for more than a century.”
TVA is looking for creative ways to repurpose its dry coal ash disposal sites, including plans to build a solar farm atop one site at the Shawnee Fossil Plant in Kentucky. The agency wants to build 10,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2035 and to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Kingston historical marker is overdue, commissioner says
At the Dec. 22 ceremony, some commissioners and worker widows will speak, announcing plans for a forthcoming historical marker visible from the interstate. For some, it's a gesture the county should have made before.
"As a county, we probably haven't done as much as we should have been doing to commemorate and honor these folks, and so I just thought it was time," said Roane County Commissioner Ron Berry. "We're just doing what we probably should have been doing all along, and that's making sure that we never forget."
Berry said Roane County is still recouping from losses that stemmed from the spill, including what he said was stagnant population growth and lost development opportunities. Alongside its $1.2 billion cleanup, during which enough coal ash was removed from the river system to fill the Great Pyramid of Giza, TVA said it gave the Roane County government $43 million. Of that investment, $32 million went to its schools.
For spouses of over 50 cleanup workers who have died, the job isn't finished. Betty Johnson said she and other widows still attend EPA meetings related to coal ash around the country. They have also helped put up billboards in local communities to mark the anniversary.
Regulations and research on coal ash are still a work in progress, but there is now a wealth of information and safety guidelines that were not in place before the Kingston spill, thanks in large part to workers and their families.
Johnson said the historical marker will be a permanent reminder of men like her husband.
"That's another thing that gives you peace of mind," Johnson said. "That somebody cares about the workers and what happened to them and that it will stand there for life and you can't ever forget it."
Daniel Dassow is a growth and development reporter focused on technology and energy. Phone 423-637-0878. Email daniel.dassow@knoxnews.com.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Kingston coal ash spill workers, families prepare to mark 15 years
