TVA Coal Ash Sampling Trip

[WaterkeeperGulf]

great job Donna!!!!

[waterloggeddog]

Great work! If society had it's priorities straight, there would be many more than 20k views. I'll pass this on!

[Rubenleesims]

It's too bad it takes this kind of tragedy to bring attention to something that should have been resolved decades ago. For decades toxic coal ash waste has polluted Black neighborhoods in the south with virtually no attention at all.

[gragor11]

Well produced documentary.  A good primer for other groups seeking to publicize and document other situations.

gragor

[LaviStrikesBack]

Ashbergs, I thought of that word seconds before s/he mentioned it XP.

[JawLeee]

is that a guy or a girl talking?

[richard200923322]

so what

[abbot124]

Storing fly ash isn't a viable solution. The TVA seem unaware of the new RockTron technology, designed to recycle 100% fresh and stockpiled fly ash to produce industrial eco-minerals. The $5 billion celanup budget could build 100 RockTron recycling plants instead, saving power plants millions, preserving the environment and protecting our valuable natural resources. Check out RockTron fly ash on search engines!

[junkyardnut]

The stark reality is that practically everyone is nutty enough to pollute air, water, land everyday. But we like to pick on coal producers all on their lonely aloneness!! We crave to find a scapegoat for all the inconventional truths that we kept on hearing about ! There is no such single scapegoat! Everyone is the scapegoat under God!

[junkyardnut]

I bet every one of you already drove through smoky farms , huh? those mindless farmers burning crop waste instead of chipping or compsoting it.. They are rushing the release of carbon into the atompshere instead of allowing them to rot naturalyy and slowly releasing CO2 into the air.. hurry hurry make profits!!

[junkyardnut]

There is no clean farmers , neither....

[russelltree]

Thank you very much for this video. I grew up in the ohio valley near the FirstEnergy W.H. Sammis plant. We should all be concerned about the disposal of fly ash, and these type of containment ponds. There are many very close to the nations largest rivers including the Ohio. I own and operate a consulting/line clearance company and my customers include major electric utilities. We all know the importance of electricity but it is a simple truth. There is no "clean coal".

[5secChevy]

FYI= TVA Police are Federal Agents of the United States. They are not any form of a security force.

TVA Police also patrol waterways throughout TN.

I live in the area, and it is a shame this happened but TVA Police Officer help maintain safety of the employees and the 100 million annual user of TVA properties.

Your probably lucky that you only received a written warning.

Have a good day.

[bheath6]

I live in NW Alabama about 30 min south of TN and the local news and papers here have also censored this event. Its scary to think that I live not too far from where this happened and very very few people have heard about it. The people of this country need to wake up and stop letting the politicians run this country. I often wonder if we are not on the verge of an American revolution.

[gamoonbat]

This was the worst industrial accident in history in terms of volume. The potential health risks are significant, although this area does not have a dense population.

[indigobell]

why didn't this make the national news???

[OUtsidethenine4eva]

because the media is owned and only show what they're told to show. You don't know that by now?

[Altrious]

Yea, I just found out about this because my friend lives a few miles away from there. I find it mind blowing that no one outside of this town has heard about it. I read that the area of effect is around 48 times the size of the Exxon oil spill. That was all over the news, why isn't this? It's ridiculous. I'm gonna show some instructors at school this vid and get their opinions on it.

[web95]

I find it amazing that I have not heard of this sooner and through other media. I don't consider myself a media hermit, but I'm not really the most knowledgeable person on current events either. This is a disaster and the president elect (until tomorrow) should be doing something here to draw more attention to the TVA and a serious clean up of the surrounding area.

[YERTians]

Way to go you all! Nice video and THANK YOU for taking the time to take independent samples. A huge service to the community. Please keep us posted on the results of the tests and if the Coast Guard ever makes that delivery...

Best,

Mark from YERT

[RiverFox911]

Hey Mark,

Thanks for the comment. We went back to the Emory River for two days on January 8th and 9th. There still wasn't a single buoy anywhere on the river indicating that the Coast Guard has officially closed a public navigable waterway. There was one cheap little plastic sign posted by TVA at the boat ramp claiming the river was closed. It did not cite the Coast Guard nor any law or legal authority for the alleged closure.

[monkeyface62]

Thanks for showing this horrible disaster. This needs more attention and immediate clean up.

[fiedag]

To Donna, John and Sandra

Thank you for your excellent work in bringing this to light and recording history in action. 

This accident was entirely preventable. Please continue on with your fight to hold the company accountable.

Did I read correctly that the EPA does not have a mandate to investigate this? I find that astounding.

Alex Fiedler

Adelaide, South Australia

[mgtillyer]

Hi Donna and Sandra,

I'm working on a follow-up video and would like to use portions of some of your documentation video/s. I will provide credit, of course. Please let me know if this is okay. I'll send you a copy, prior to posting for your review.

[RiverFox911]

Of course you can use any portion of my videos. I can't wait to see your next creation.

Donna

[mgtillyer]

Sandra,

I know you've seen the video but I'll mention it here. To see what the area USED to look like - click on my username. I only have one video posted and it's the before and after of the damaged area.

[RiverFox911]

Hi Mgtillyer,

This is Donna Lisenby-the Riverkeeper's YouTube site. Thanks for putting together such a great video that shows the before and after images. Very powerful. Sandra posted it to her Huffington Post today.

A lot of people think that TVA owns the water. They don't. Waters of the United States are public trust assets. They belong to the people in common. Government is supposed to act as protector of the public's interest in clean water. Often they utterly fail-hence Riverkeepers.

[mgtillyer]

I seeeee. Interesting. I have a lot of research to do. Thanks, Donna!

[mgtillyer]

Sandra,

I forwarded this video to my parents. I just called them and they said TVA has jurisdiction over all waterways where they supply power. They "own" the water. At least, that's always been their impression.

I see barges in the video - those don't have the vacuums on them?

[RiverFox911]

Hi Mgtillyer,

No, those weren't vacuums on the barges. Just cranes and storage containers. I went back out on the river today and for the very first time since the disaster happened, saw a vacuum barge. Thanks to a great partnership with the incredible staff at the Tennessee Aquarium, we collected fish...or at least what few were left. The background turbidity levels in the Clinch river upstream today were 44 NTU's. The turbidity levels in the Emory at the spill site were 40,000 NTU's. Sad.

[mgtillyer]

I have no idea what that means but I'm going to look it up! Thanks for the update! I also found out today by one of my pilot friends that air space is now restricted over the site. I'm going to have to work around that for my next video. ;-)

[jasonplancaster]

This is seriously disturbing and so sad.

[nazfan01]

I used to see Al Gore alot in Kingston when I was a young kid during 74-75 time period Now where is he? Erin Brockovich has to take his place? All I can say is that TVA has really screwed up big time and are hiding more than they are saying...they are really scared to the point that they dont even want the Governor of Tennessee in there to see the disaster area. Y-12 and K-25 has already ruin that river years ago as well.

[wolferdog]

i will do anything in my power as a college kid to help! PLZ PPL! NOT JUST THE FISHES ARE DYING! OTHER ANIKMALS TOO! OUR DRINKING WATER IT TRASHED BY THIS DAMN OLD TVA.

[themountainviewguy]

this is horrible.

[vizsla69]

Thank you for your efforts. Keep up the good work of getting the word out.

[vizsla69]

Where is your own Al Gore ? By not showing his face during this event, Gore is showing his true colors in pushing fake science versus real science being presented here.

[elmoboy86]

Gore is an activist for climate change? This is water pollution?

[golcynski]

Climate change is a gray area. How could C02 attribute to warming/cooling when its less than 1% of earths atmosphere.

[bob6824]

this makes me so so sad! Where are the Environmentalist folks at? Why arent there alot of barges cleaning this up? WTF!!?? Whats the email for TN senator? I'll write! Come on people!!!! This isn't right!!!

[mountainjustice]

Well the environmentalists with United Mountain Defense have been on site in Kingston TN since the day of the disaster, videotaping, getting water samples to laboratories, going door to door passing out information, talking to the national media and setting up a community meeting in Kingston.

We have been working 14-16 hour days, even on Christmas Day. On New Years Eve we finished having our nightly UMD meeting at 11:45, took a 15 minute break, hugged and fell into bed exhausted.

[svosprey]

I have heard speculation that the TVA intends to argue that the best solution to the toxic coal ash in the river is to leave it in place and allow it to settle to the bottom. The reasoning goes that this will prevent the solids being stirred up again and moving downstream. If this is allowed I would imagine in a short time the fish in the area will no longer be safe to eat for generations to come.

[BrownTown5555]

The fish are already considered unsafe to eat due to pollution from Oak Ridge, especially the bottom dwelling fish. The amount of mercury already on the bottom of the river is pretty absurd TBH.

[svosprey]

If that is the case maybe the solution would be to bring in clean dirt and cover the ash in the river.

Cap it, help nature cover it, in the river that is, all ash on land should be cleaned up and sent to a proper disposal site.

[prodono]

I learned about this video on the Christian Science MOnitor website. At least they know something is rotten here.

[mountainjustice]

Thanks all for your work!

Any results on those water tests yet?

[RiverFox911]

Should be out within the hour.

Donna

[mountainjustice]

where will it be posted, Im looking now

[mtncur]

Amazing that EPA and TVA can't seem to make any quantitative statements as to the load of toxics released. Are they really that clueless and incompetent? Thanks for posting this. Truth is so often slow to emerge. Let's don't let this get "diluted" until it's off the media's radar. Thank goodness for local activists and the internet. It can keep the problems up front, on screen, in sight. This incident is major.

[ontheearthproduction]

GREAT WORK! thank you. k

[Poisonbeatrice]

Great job posting this.

[igmuska]

American Energy Policy is dangerous to America! Bought and paid for by foreign capital. To quote that famous line: "We borrow money from China to buy Middle East oil." Who makes the money from this plant? Are the utility bill payers' funds being used to pay for the loans used to operate these atrocities, while those same funds do nothing to protect the very resource these plants pollute!

NO NUKES

NO COAL

NO KIDDING

[xenofiend]

Thank you.

[revco68]

I can't believe this is not a bigger story in the media - Tennessee's public officials have failed their state.

[AutoEgo1]

DO you have a Facebook page concerning this? I live in Alabama and this is the first I have heard of it! I was told about it by a friend of mine in HOLLAND!!!! How is that possible that someone in Holland knows about this and I don't? Have you thought about setting up a Facebook page concerning this issue. It is the quickest way to spread the word regarding this that I can think of.

[gloushire]

This video is starting to disseminate over the web. I came across it on a popular social website. Also, I wanted to say thank you very much for your hard work and continuing devotion to protecting our natural areas and communities. This video is very informative and I'm looking forward to hearing what y'all find with the samples.

[beatywilson]

Great work, guys! John B. Neal, look out!

[anodesjoinops]

funny that they have the resources for security, but essentially zero for cleanup. it's like an environmental katrina.

[bmwbruno]

This is an important video. I encourage everyone to send the link for this, and all follow-ups, to your friends so they too can join in the outcry for justice and accountability from TVA. Don't let TVA get away with this!

Thanks to Donna for an excellent job in reporting and to all involved on the ground there.

[WataugaWaterSentinel]

Excellent video presentation.........

Kick TVA's ASH!

[hccreekkeeper]

Great work Donna!

John L. Wathen,

Hurricane Creekkeeper