TVA Ruins Watts Bar Lake

TVA has ruined beautiful Watts Bar Lake. As my user name suggests I love fishing for crappie on Watts Bar Lake, which includes portions of the Emory and Clinch Rivers. I'm saddened to report that today the lake has been transformed into a reservior of suet and debris. Dead fish are washing ashore by the thousands. From my deck I can see waterfowl such as ducks and heron covered in ash suet. The lake is completely and eerily grey. A TVA spokesman stated earlier today that the dying fish are possibly due to colder temperatures. What a joke! Only a government agency could make such an assenine statement. Undoubtedly TVA's water testing initiatives will come back completely safe for humans, animals, and various marine life. TVA will lead us to believe that the dead and dying marine life are due to factors other than ash contamination. Furthermore, I do not trust the great City of Kingston to be forthcoming with the quality of our drinking water. Make no mistake about it - this is a TRAGEDY of epic proportions.

What was at the root cause of this tragedy? TVA states that it was due to recent heavy rains. I pose a simple question to the intelligent readers of RoaneViews. Is this the first week of heavy rains since the inception of TVA's ash sludge storage ponds? I don't think so. I feel certain you readers have witnessed the same flooding that I have over the years. I have seen Watts Bar Lake flooded to the point that the water was flowing over the spillway at Watts Bar Dam. I'm just a lowly crappie fisherman with average intelligence but my guess is that there were some serious engineering and operational failures involved in this debacle, as well as some potentially criminal EPA permit violations.

Where do we go from here? TVA is in the process of constructing a new and massive ash storage area on the eastern side of the "Wildlife Management Area". Isn't that comical. Lake property owners that own property adjacent to WMA's can't build docks and boathouses because of the detrimental effects to wildlife, but TVA can justify building ash sludge ponds. As I look out across the lake while writing this blog I see no water skimmers or booms. TVA is doing nothing to protect the lake, its inhabitants, or the animals that feed from the lake.

This is merely the sad beginning of a long and painful journey to reclaim our beautiful lake, which just happens to be Kingston's most valuable resource. I ask all of you to join me in holding TVA accountable for this tragedy. We cannot allow TVA to sweep this under the rug as all goverment agencies attempt to do. I would welcome your feedback on this issue. Lets stand together and take action!

Crappieman

Randy Neal at KnoxViews has more information on the hazards we are facing in this mess. TVA needs to be honest with us and help us deal with the aftermath.

(link...)

There are few that are more fun for me to "crack" on than the EPA, but folks I gotta tell you, when the well exploded up here in O.S., we got more BS than 600 head could put out in a year. When the EPA got on scene we started getting the truth. Up to that point it was CYOA, on steroids.

Make them prove what they're telling you, take nothing for granted, and be very very cautious because they will feed you BS if they think they can get away with it.

Okay, there is the possibility that they will be honest and above board, and I do hope that for you, but make them prove it. Even if you start to feel like you might be just a bit rude, make them prove what they're telling you. Many of us didn't start out that way, and you wouldn't believe the "under the table" deals that were made to pacify the community. Thankfully some weren't so easily pacified. :-D

Just a few words of caution from one who has been through something similar. Hope my words help.

.. since around 6PM yesterday. EPA is in all meetings, including in all planning, reviewed what had been done (all with approval of TDEC).

The EPA is a noble idea that has been greatly weakened under the Bush Administration. Political appointees have repeatedly rewritten documents that were produced by their own staff scientists, contradicting factual scientific determinations in the process. While we should understand that the political control at the top of the EPA does not have your and my personal best interests at heart, the many local and regional staff people are trying their best to do a good job of protecting us, in spite of their bosses.

It's our job to correct their management situation. I think there's a turnaround coming. The EPA scientists have no stomach for bad science or misrepresenting their determinations. I'm glad they are here and will be interested to see what they have to say about the effects of the sludge spill.

I am sure the EPA will be like EVERYTHING else
under the Obama Administration and be Vastly improved!

Yeah,and I got 400 acres oe prime beach front property
in Swan Pond!!

Harsh words for Bush
She has made her views clear, calling for a shift in the nation's environmental agenda away from that of President George W. Bush, whose tenure she has described as "the worst environmental administration ever." She has blamed the Bush White House with undermining scientists, stalling and in some cases reversing clean air improvements, and refusing to address climate change.

Things should definitely be substantially better with Obama at the helm.

But you actually touch on a serious matter about future land values in the shadow of the big pile. How will TVA make it up to the people whose land values will drop as a result of their lousy engineering and maintenence?

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To date, the failure to expand Medicaid / TennCare has cost the State of Tennessee ? in lost federal funding.

We need to be vigilant and aggressive here

EPA

EPA has been on the ground at the steam plant...

The EPA is a noble idea that

I am sure the EPA will be

Actually..Carol Browner will head Energy and Environment

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