Environmentalists want TVA prosecuted for spill

Environmental groups have told President Obama in a letter that the Tennessee Valley Authority should be prosecuted for the huge coal ash spill in Tennessee and should not have immunity from federal penalties.
Representatives of the Environmental Integrity Project, Sierra Club and other groups said a report by TVA’s own inspector general shows the December 22, 2008 coal ash spill at the Kingston plant is ``only the latest and most dramatic example of environmental mismanagement.’’
TVA spokesman Scott Brooks said Monday the utility was waiting to see the letter before making any comment.
The environmentalists said in the letter that protections from federal penalties are intended to protect taxpayers but TVA does not receive federal appropriations and is self-financing.