Is that my tab button doesn't work anymore, and I have to use the stupid mouse for everything now.
But, take heart, it's less than four years of meaningless toil 'til we can finally relax.
December 2008 Archives
From Nashville is Talking:
Video of a press conference with Neil Carriker of the TVA and Trish Calabrese of the TDEC.
Video of a press conference with Neil Carriker of the TVA and Trish Calabrese of the TDEC.
Stephen Smith, Executive Director of the SACE, and Gary Davis, attorney for the SACE, held a teleconference on two potential forthcoming legal actions against the TVA, one for violations of the Clean Water Act and one for violations of the Resource Recovery and Conservation Act.
"This is a tragic situation that has brought devastating environmental consequences," said Smith.
Smith urged TVA to "clean this mess up" and "make sure it never happens again," accusing the TVA of downplaying the situation, undermining public confidence in the utility.
"In minimizing the impact, they've said a number of things I've found offensive," he said, asking the TVA to disclose the specific contents of the ash, not just the water near the ash.
"Under the Clean Water Act, they are required to have a permit for this massive discharge," Davis said.
He explained that while TVA does have a permit for the holding pond, it "of course, does not cover the discharge of a billion gallons of coal ash."
The suits, if they are indeed filed, seek to force the utility to clean up the spill, pay for the relocation of the residents whose homes were damaged, and ensure that TVA takes action to make sure this sort of spill never happens again.
Potential civil penalties for Clean Water Act violations, Davis explained, are $32,000 a day for each day of violation.
"The best way to do this is basically to sink a legal hook in them," said Smith. "It's not to pile on or cause TVA hardship. It's basically to make sure that we use every means at our disposal."
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy posted up a notice of intent to file suit today for violations of the Clean Water Act as a result of the coal ash spill in Kingston last week.
Happening right now. The New York Israel consulate's "news conference" about the Gaza offensive...on Twitter?
Update: Best entry yet.
@peoplesworld We hav 2 prtct R ctzens 2, only way fwd through neogtiations, & left Gaza in 05. y Hamas launch missiles not peace? #AskIsrael
And, as almost always (the ambivalence of "the Couch" notwithstanding), it's unpleasant.
New national updates on TVA fly ash spill:
Have a blessed holiday, East Tennessee!
KNS has a fascinating human interest piece today about Gary Bayless, whose Sevier Avenue home stands right in the way of proposed South Waterfront development. The city wants to purchase the home, and has offered Bayless $97,000. But he wants to keep it. Hmm...that's weird. I think I just had a little deja vu there.
From the News Sentinel:
Authorities said today that skeletal remains found on an East Knox County farm last month are those of popular Knoxville hair stylist Byron Barker, who has been missing for more than three years and was the victim of foul play.
Barker was 47 when reported missing by family members on May 19, 2005. His 2004 Nissan Altima was found in a hotel parking lot in Williamsburg, Ky.
Here's a 2007 Metro Pulse cover story by Mike Gibson featuring interviews with Barker's friends and family.
