Disposal Of TVA's Coal Ash Spill Highlights Tough Equity Hurdles For EPA

摘要

EPA's decision to allow the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to landfill waste - from its December 2008 coal ash spill - in a predominantly black Alabama community is highlighting the significant difficulties Administrator Lisa Jackson faces as she seeks to address the legacy of agency decisions on poor and minority communities.rnJackson acted quickly to launch a cleanup of the massive spill in the mostly white neighborhoods adjacent to TVA's Kingston, TN, plant, and in early January 2009 the agency approved TVA's plan to send 3 million cubic yards of the recovered ash to a landfill in mostly poor and black Perry County, AL. Jackson also separately vowed to craft strict waste-management rules for coal ash, but that effort stalled in late December in the face of massive industry opposition.