TVA found responsible for 2008 coal fly ash spill in Tennessee

The opinion and order can be downloaded at the Tennessee Eastern District web site or from ESWR‘s web site.

Sierra Club put out a release.

The judge, born in Oak Ridge, Tenn., in 1956, was nominated for the bench by President George W. Bush in January 2003 and confirmed two months later. (See link below to bio.)

News coverage, etc.

• The Tennessean (by Bobby Allyn (8/23/2012) (Excerpt: “The authority repeatedly sought to have the case dismissed. A five-week trial was held last September on whether the nation’s largest public utility should be responsible for the spill. The authority maintained its innocence. Today’s decision affirms that TVA was, in fact, blameworthy.”)
• Nashville Public Radio (WPLN)
• Associated Press (quotes decision: ” ‘Had TVA followed its own mandatory policies, procedures, and practices, the subsurface issues underlying the failure of North Dike would have been investigated, addressed, and potentially remedied before the catastrophic failure of December 22, 2008,’ [U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan]  wrote.”
• TVA Kingston recovery web site (w/ March 2012 update)