by Sue Sturgis
The landfill in Perry County, Ala. that has been taking coal ash
spilled from the failed waste pond at Tennessee Valley Authority’s
Kingston plant has declared bankruptcy—a move that leaves a planned
lawsuit to halt the dumping up in the air.
Arrowhead Landfill owner Perry-Uniontown Ventures I LLC, also known as
Perry County Associates, filed for bankruptcy last week in Mobile,
Ala., the Selma Times-Journal reports:
In court documents filed with the bankruptcy petition, Perry-Uniontown Ventures I LLC claimed two other operations, Phillips & Jordan Inc. and Phill-Con Services have withheld money paid by the TVA for accepting coal ash at the landfill located near Uniontown.
The complaint also asked for an accounting, indicating PUV did not know where the money paid by TVA for the disposal went.
Perry-Uniontown Ventures I LLC claims its three largest creditors are P&J for $3.9 million, the Perry County Commission for $779,837 and the Alabama Department of Revenue for $11,000 in sales tax.
TVA and its disposal contractor say the bankruptcy filing won’t stop ash shipments to the facility.
However, the filing automatically brings a halt to a planned lawsuit
aimed at stopping the dumping, since no new litigation can be brought
against entities in bankruptcy proceedings.
The coal ash is
currently being shipped by rail from the spill site in eastern
Tennessee’s Roane County, with more than 1 million tons received to
date. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is overseeing the
disposal, expects 3 million of the 5 million cubic yards of ash spilled
from the TVA plant to end up at the Perry County dump. The deal was
among the reasons cited by environmental justice advocates calling for an investigation into the EPA’s treatment of black communities in the South.
Some residents of Perry County—a majority African-American Black Belt community where more than 30 percent of residents live below the poverty line—were planning to file a federal lawsuit against the facility.
David
A. Ludder, an environmental attorney in Florida who has been working
with about 150 Perry County residents, submitted notices of intent to
sue to the landfill’s owners in December. The notices allege violations
of the federal Solid Waste Disposal Act and the Clean Air Act, the
Perry County Herald reports. Ludder said he’s now examining their options.
Among
those who have accused the landfill of not operating safely is
Hurricane Creekkeeper John Wathen, who says he’s discovered the
operators dumping liquid waste into ditches along the road in front of
people’s homes, the Locust Fork News-Journal reports. Nearby residents—some who live literally a stone’s throw from the dump—have also complained of foul odors.
Proponents
of the dumping plan have argued that it would bring jobs to the area as
well as a much-needed economic boost to the impoverished county’s
coffers. Under the dumping deal, Perry County is supposed to get $1.05
for each ton of ash delivered.
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