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SW: →Coal Waste Site: - add section
==Coal Waste Site==
===Coal waste spill===
On January 9, 2009, [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] confirmed another '''coal waste spill at its [[Widows Creek Fossil Plant|Widows Creek plant]] in northeast Alabama, less than three weeks after the enormous [[TVA Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill|Tennessee coal ash spill]] at TVA's [[Kingston Fossil Plant]]. The spill, which TVA said originated from a gypsum treatment operation, released about 10,000 gallons of toxic gypsum material, some of which spilled into Widows Creek and the nearby Tennessee River.<ref>Bruce Nilles, [http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/1/9/163222/7957/215/682194 "Coal Waste Spills by the Dozen?,"] Daily Kos, January 9, 2009.</ref>
Gypsum ponds contain limestone spray from smokestack scrubbers, which trap [[Sulfur dioxide and coal|sulfur dioxide]] emissions before they are released into the air and turn them into sludge and solid waste.<ref name="ens">[http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2009/2009-01-09-095.asp "Waste Spills From a Second TVA Coal-Fired Power Plant,"] Environment News Service, January 9, 2009.</ref> According to a TVA statement, the spill occurred at 6 AM when a cap dislodged from a 30-inch standpipe, releasing material from the gypsum pond into a settling pond, which then reached capacity and overflowed.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/09/second-tva-dam-breaks-at_n_156605.html "SECOND TVA SPILL: Dam Breaks At Alabama Coal Plant,"] Associated Press, January 9, 2009.</ref>
===Widows Creek ranked 20th on list of most polluting power plants in terms of coal waste===
In January 2009, Sue Sturgis of the Institute of Southern Studies compiled a list of the 100 most polluting coal plants in the United States in terms of [[Coal waste|coal combustion waste]] (CCW) stored in surface impoundments like the one involved in the [[TVA Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill]].<ref name="iss">Sue Sturgis, [http://www.southernstudies.org/2009/01/coals-ticking-timebomb-could-disaster-strike-a-coal-ash-dump-near-you.html "Coal's ticking timebomb: Could disaster strike a coal ash dump near you?,"] Institute for Southern Studies, January 4, 2009.</ref> The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/triexplorer/ TRI Explorer,] EPA, accessed January 2009.</ref>
