New York personal injury law firm Weitz & Luxenberg PC filed a
lawsuit against the Tennessee Valley Authority (NYSE: TVE) for the Dec.
22 coal ash spill in Roane County, Tennessee.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern
District of Tennessee on behalf of 109 citizens in
Roane County and the surrounding area. It claims the TVA had ongoing
problems with containing its waste at the Kingston plant, dating back
to 1984.
The suit claims the company should be responsible for the toxic
materials contained in the coal sludge, including arsenic, barium,
cadmium,
chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium and thallium, which
are hazardous to human health.
The firm, which is represented by famed spokeswoman Erin Brockovich,
joined lawyers from May and Ryan PLC in Nashville, Tenn., in the
lawsuit.
The failure of a dike at a 98-acre retention pond at the Kingston
Fossil Plant near Kingston, Tenn., released more than 1 million gallons
of sludge containing some 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash across
roughy 300 acres and into the Emory River.
The TVA estimates it will cost between
$535 million and $825 million to clean up the spill, which doesn´t
include litigation, regulatory action or long-term remediation.
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