An internal audit released this week found the Tennessee Valley Authority’s response to a massive coal ash spill lacked both emergency prowess and integrity in communicating with the public. The December spill, which resulted from the rupture of a temporary storage area, dumped more than 1 billion gallons of fly and bottom ash over 300 acres in Kingston, Tennessee.
Auditors for the TVA “sharply criticized the agency's 11 coal-fired power plants for failing to adopt Homeland Security's National Incident Management System protocols for emergency communications,” according to an Associated Press article. Ignorance of NIMS caused communications issues between authority officials and emergency responders, delayed distribution of public health information, and prolonged stability assessments for what remained of the storage pond, the article stated.
Three days after the December 22 spill, O'Brien's Response Management was hired to help the TVA comply with federal rules, according to a Chattanooga Times Free Press article. The company cost the TVA “$510,000 to help comply with rules TVA should have known already,” according to the report.
In addition to emergency communication issues, the Inspector General of TVA—which is a federal authority—faulted public communications officials for making false statements to the press, including misstating the size of the spill, the environmental impact, and the health implications.
“In a ‘talking point’ paper prepared for the news media, TVA personnel changed ‘catastrophic’ to ‘sudden accidental release’ and reworked the description of fly ash to call it simply an ‘inert material not harmful to the environment,’ according to the Times Free Press. Fly ash contains toxic metals including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead and can be harmful if touched, inhaled, or ingested, according to a Tennessee Department of Health fact sheet.
In general, TVA agreed with the audit’s assessment—although it disputes misrepresenting the situation to media—and will work to implement its recommendations, according to news reports. Alongside the audit, the authority also released Report to Our Roane County Neighbors, an update on recovery, environmental impact, and health information.
Jolie Breeden is the lead editor and science communicator for Natural Hazards Center publications. She writes and edits for Research Counts; the Quick Response, Mitigation Matters, Public Health, and Weather Ready Research Award report series; as well as for special projects and publications. Breeden graduated summa cum laude from the University of Colorado Boulder with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.