TVA might have to pay in cleanup contractor negligence suit
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The nation's largest public utility says it could be required to partially reimburse a contractor it hired to clean up a massive coal ash spill after that contractor was sued by workers.
The Tennessee Valley Authority says it could be contractually obligated to reimburse Jacobs Engineering Group "some amounts" if the workers win their lawsuits. They claim Jacobs' negligence caused illnesses ranging from high blood pressure to cancer.
The workers were cleaning up more than 5 million cubic yards of coal ash sludge from a 2008 spill at TVA's Kingston, Tennessee, facility.
A federal judge has ordered mediation.
TVA's statement came in a quarterly earnings report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and was reported in the Knoxville News Sentinel .
TVA does not estimate how much it might have to pay.
