And then people wonder why some Roane citizens don't trust the information being put out there.

There are too many examples in our history just like the Exxon spill as described in this article, that cause some of us to have a few trust issues.

Sure we know there's independent agencies doing testing, but the government's record on disasters isn't all that great. I know I'm not the only one thinking "Sure, that's what they tell us now, but what about five or ten years from now?"

I go back to something earlier. We will only be able to trust our agencies when we can oversee them from the outside and "catch them telling the truth". That's why I repeatedly call for TVA to accept cooperative oversight from UMD, Tennessee Clean Water Network and other qualified groups.

From someone who has lived it and on a much greater scale. I just don't see how our community can rally to itself and fight this problem, much less represent ourselves in mediation against a federal behemoth like TVA. We are too severed. The shame is that TVA would and will drag this through the court systems for 20 years all the while saying they will make us whole and represent our best interests. WC I disagree with your stance on punitive damages. Heavy punitive damages to the tune of hundreds of millions may be the force that requires an org like TVA to make better decisions in the future regarding our health/safety and environment. If we give them a pass we are setting the stage for additional disasters. Additionally, there should be criminal charges brought against the responsible parties.

Dumping 5.4 Million cubic yards of toxic waste into the river system. It would be criminal if you or I did it and its criminal when TVA does it. TVA made a conscious and calculated decision not to invest the engineering and operational monies necessary to prevent this disaster. TVA ingnored prior engineering reports regarding this holding pond and its dike structure. Cmon RB we put a man on the moon 40 years ago using a tin foil spaceship. Only a fool would believe that engineering specs on this holding pond with its extraordinary volume would not indicate catastrophic failure. Its been leaking for decades. Not all coal fired power plants dispose of their ash in holding ponds. Once upon a time as a young man I worked for a company (Chemical Waste Management)that vacuumed out ash from holding tanks of power plants which were destined for proper disposal. That was over 25 years ago and closer to the time of moon technology. TVA has criminally contaminated our community both environmentally and economically.

As I am not a legal guru. I don't know the legal statutes against running red lights but I know they are on the books. I'm pretty sure there are some legal statutes against dumping toxic waste into the river. I don't feel the need to quantify my thoughts with legal jargon. It is what it is!

And it appears as though you and I may possibly be communicating on decent levels. I'm afraid though that where we part ways is the reasonings behind the classifications. I am assuming your classifications are derived from the EPA when I infer that the EPA is in the business of protecting its own. Could it be possible that the EPA's clasifications are erronious and that presumably lead, mercury, barium, thalium, arsenic, etc should be classified as toxic to any species that walks, fly's, or swims the planet? Could it be that our federal government is not seriously in the business of protecting our health/safety and our environment? All questions that lead to the big ??? Why is this stuff not classified as toxic. Call me a pessimist but I would bet that somewhere down the line a government body of some type made these critical decisions in anticipation of this very type of disaster.

You know RB. I am angry. I look out across the lake and I wonder if my kids or grandchildren are safe in that water. How much more punishment can the Watts Bar Reservoir take? I know nature has a unique way of cleansing itself. But I'm afraid even mother nature can't overcome our destructive tendencies.

"Could it be possible that the EPA's clasifications are erronious and that presumably lead, mercury, barium, thalium, arsenic, etc should be classified as toxic to any species that walks, fly's, or swims the planet?"

Of course it is possible but wouldn't the laws that TVA could possibly be charged with violating be based on the legal classifications?..If so, then how can they be charged with anything?

The dirt your kids play in has most of these things in it. All burning coal does is concentrate it so we have to be careful about where we put the residue.

We're weren't careful about where we put the residue. Now we have to go get it from where it escaped to and put it someplace careful. It's basically in teeny little rocks right now. As long as the water flowing over it is alkaline, it will stay in the little rocks. Note: Your stomach is definitely acidic...Don't eat the stuff. Take showers if you get it on you. Soap is very alkaline.

We have a short term environmental problem and a long term pr problem.

2-3 years from now the problems with With our lake will be back to the problems we've had for decades. PCB's and mercury that make the fish unfit for consumption. Catch and release all you want, though.