State Agencies, EPA Host Meeting to Share TVA Kingston Spill Information
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 | 03:47am
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation will host a public availability session and meeting along with the Tennessee Department of Health and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, March 5, 2009, to share information with the community about environmental sampling results related to the Kingston ash spill and what those results mean.
Staff from each agency will be available from 5 to 6 p.m. EST for an open house to answer questions from the public one-on-one. Beginning at 6 p.m. EST, the agencies will present and interpret their findings. There will be additional opportunity to ask questions following the presentations. The availability session and meeting will take place in the Roane State Community College Student Lounge, which is located in the Dunbar Building.
Acting EPA Region 4 Administrator Stan Meiburg, Tennessee Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Veronica Gunn and Environment and Conservation Deputy Commissioner Paul Sloan will be among those who will take part.
"The Department of Environment and Conservation has been collecting samples and having them analyzed at the state lab operated by the Department of Health since the spill occurred," said Sloan. "We are committed to keeping the community informed of our work and findings by posting all the results, along with interpretation, to our Web site. But we also think it's important to speak directly with area residents to share accurate information about what these results mean and answer their questions face-to-face."
In addition to sharing information about sampling results for air, land and water, the agencies will discuss the potential for health implications as they relate to the sampling results, as well as provide an update on clean-up oversight and recovery work.
“We welcome the opportunity to participate in this community meeting in an effort to keep the public informed of our work with TDEC related to the Kingston coal ash release,” said Meiburg. “We look forward to hearing from the community about the ongoing work and their hopes for the future.”
TDEC sampling results and other information related to the Kingston ash spill can be found by visiting at www.tn.gov/environment, then clicking on “TVA Kingston Update” on the right side of the page. Links to fact sheets and contact information for the Tennessee Department of Health are available at http://health.state.tn.us/coalashspill.htm.
EPA sampling results and other information related to the Kingston ash spill can be found at http://www.epa.gov/region4/kingston/index.html.
###