"Critical" Coal Ash Spill Clean Up Nearly 2/3rds Complete at TVA Kingston Plant

TVA reports about two-thirds of the coal ash deemed critical after last years spill has been removed from Emory River.

Nearly a billion cubic yards of coal ash burst through the wall of a retention pond at the Kingston coal-fired Power Plant.

Mike Scott, the Operations Manager for the recovery project, told Chattanooga's Engineers club the spill buried 300 acres in sludge and damaged dozens of homes.

Those involved in recovery say heavy rainfall, like what we experienced last month, creates cause for concern.  "We had some heavy rains earlier after the spill had occurred which put some of the ash and washed it further down river which is one of the reasons why we're trying so hard to get it out before the Spring come next year," says Scott.

Scott says only three-million cubic yards of fly ash were labeled as "critical," and will be cleaned up by next Spring.