“A courtroom drama about the victims of one of the largest environmental disasters in US history — and the country lawyer who challenged the notion that, in America, justice can be bought.” Those words from the Dust Jacket of Jared Sullivan’s book, Valley So Low, open my 2024 review in The Hellbender Press, an online newspaper published in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The legal drama Sullivan described followed the 2008 coal ash spill at the Kingston, Tennessee, steam plant, sometimes called America’s greatest environmental disaster. Although that event can now be considered historical, the storage and disposal of coal ash remains controversial.
Proper handling of Coal Ash is essential since the toxic materials it contains include arsenic, lead, and mercury. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has new plans for coal ash storage, officially titled the Corrective Action/Risk Assessment Plans (CARA).
Concerned citizens can make public comments online until August 31, and a public meeting is planned for August 13. Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club are sponsoring a gathering prior to the meeting.
References for those who want to know more.
My review in The Hellbender Press: https://hellbenderpress.org/news/a-tale-of-when-coal-ash-filled-a-valley-so-low.
The official description of the plans and information on the comment period and public meeting appears on the TDEC website: https://www.tn.gov/environment/calendar-of-events/2026/8/13/kingston-cara-plan-public-meeting.html.
Appalachian Voices gives a different take on their web page: https://appvoices.org/actions/speak-up-about-coal-ash-storage/.
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