Groups Take First Step Toward Lawsuit Against TVA Over Clean Air Act Violations at Kingston Site

Environmental groups are moving toward suing the Tennessee Valley Authority over air pollution violations at its Kingston power plant site in Tennessee. The Southern Environmental Law Center, representing Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club, sent TVA a formal warning letter this week arguing that construction of a new gas plant next to the aging Kingston coal plant breaks the Clean Air Act. TVA had planned to retire the coal plant, one of its dirtiest and least reliable, but reversed that decision in February and now intends to run both the coal and gas plants at once.

Running both plants together requires a stricter "major source" permit, which would force TVA to study the combined pollution and install modern pollution controls. Instead, TVA is building the gas plant under a weaker "minor" permit while spending more than $636 million to keep the old coal plant going. Combined, the two plants could release thousands of tons of pollution a year, including nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and fine particulate matter, pollutants linked to asthma, heart disease, and other health problems.

Groups say the costs of keeping the coal plant running, along with building the gas plant, will show up on household power bills for TVA customers in the Tennessee Valley. This is a required legal step before a lawsuit: TVA now has 60 days to fix the violations, or the groups can take the utility to court. A similar warning was sent to TVA last month over its Cumberland plant in Cumberland City, Tennessee.