TVA executive: No advanced warning on dike failure

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) top executive says in a sworn court filing that before the Dec. 2008 coal ash spill, he had no forewarning a dike failure at the Kingston Plant was “likely or imminent.”

Responding to federal lawsuits against TVA related to the huge spill, Tom Kilgore is battling requests for a deposition.

Kilgore’s affidavit, filed electronically April 11 in Knoxville, says he “never had any hands-on involvement” in personnel decisions about who inspected the Kingston ash facilities. Kilgore said he could not recall discussing or deciding any capital improvement item for the dike.

Plaintiff attorney Elizabeth Alexander of Nashville said April 13 that a response will be filed and “we are going to continue to seek his deposition.”