Somebody Is Gonna Pay!

Governor Phil Bredesen issued another executive order related to the TVA toxic ash disaster:

The Order…requires TVA’s cooperation with the state in supporting independent assessments and inspections at Kingston and other TVA coal-waste sites around the state as well as the development of a corrective action plan detailing the steps TVA will take to clean up the Kingston site and ensure safe operations in the future.

Okay, sounds good. Plus:

This Order requires TVA to reimburse the Department of Environment and Conservation for expenses incurred overseeing cleanup and further investigative activities.

Okay, that sounds good, but isn’t that just shifting the burden to TVA customers? Which is pretty much everyone with electricity in nine states. Still, I guess it’s the right decision, even if it’s a sucky one.

Hopefully, the federal government will step in and cover TVA’s costs on this (since TVA is owned 100% by the federal government) rather than passing the costs on to consumers. After all, it wasn’t the consumers that caused this problem but the people in charge of TVA (again, the federal government). Maybe the Bush Administration shouldn’t have blocked all efforts to regulate and fix this problem for the past eight years. It's not like they weren't warned.

Turning a Blind Eye

It’ll be nice to have a functioning EPA again:

The Environmental Protection Agency eight years ago said it wanted to set a national standard for ponds or landfills used to dispose of wastes produced from burning coal.

The agency has yet to act.

Eight years, huh? That’s a pretty telling number.

The notion that the Bush Administration neglected an issue that would have been uncomfortable for the energy industry will surprise no one. The idea that if the Bush Administration had bothered to act, the TVA ash disaster in East Tennessee might have been averted will be lost on deliberately blind-eye Republicans like Rep. Zach Wamp.

Once again the Bush Administration failed to foresee or prevent a disaster that they had been explicitly warned about. Leaving President-elect Obama to deal with this:

Millions of tons of toxic coal ash is piling up in power plant ponds in 32 states, a practice the federal government has long recognized as a risk to human health and the environment but has left unregulated.

An Associated Press analysis of the most recent Energy Department data found that 156 coal-fired power plants store ash in surface ponds similar to the one that collapsed last month in Tennessee.

Only 11 more days until the White House is once again the head of the federal government instead of its primary obstacle.

Katrina-like?

When Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN) called the TVA ash disaster a “Katrina-like event” today, I was ready to cheer him on. Yes! It’s huge! It demands immediate action on a massive scale! The media and the federal government should be all over it!

But then I kept reading…

“I think it's time that the federal government look at an incident like this as more of a disaster like Katrina, as opposed to malfeasance by anyone or neglect by anyone," he said.

Wait a minute. So when he says “Katrina-like,” he’s not talking about the scope of the disaster or the urgency or the need for sweeping solutions. He’s calling it an act of nature that no one is really to blame for. He’s brushing aside the need to investigate or hold anyone accountable. Typical Republican garbage.

Sigh. I thought, just maybe, running for governor had forced Rep. Wamp to actually show himself as a take charge leader who’s ready to get things done for Tennessee. But no – he’s still just a partisan hack content to play games rather than find solutions.

Maybe I’m wrong. I hope so. I hope Rep. Wamp proves everything I just wrote to be wildly off base.

This is an opportunity, Rep. Wamp, to take ownership of a problem no one wants to touch and prove yourself to be a true leader. Are you ready to take a chance and do something big? If so, I’ll sing your praises.

If not, you’re not ready to be governor.

We Screwed Up. Here's the Bill.

To cover the cost of cleaning of TVA’s little environmental disaster, the utility's 9 million customers in Tennessee and six surrounding states will bear the brunt in higher electricity rate hikes in the future, TVA Chairman Bill Sansom told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Christmas is Over

The TNGOP never once wished me a happy holidays or merry Christmas on its website. I’m not sure why they hate religion so much, but if they were good little Republicans, they’d be showing off their Christianity prominently - if not belligerently.

How’s that for a weak, throwaway attack on the other side? Blah. Oh well, it’s all I got because the TN Democratic Party website has steadfastly refused to say anything other than happy holidays for over two months. The party blog is likewise silent.

(Here’s a hint, guys: it’s no longer the “season of giving” and McCain’s already lost the election, so why don’t you go ahead and push that junk off your homepage?)

If the TN Democratic were paying attention or showing any signs of life, maybe they’d say something about that nice Tennessee fellow who thinks racist songs are funny, just so long as Rush Limbaugh says so?

Or how about that little oopsy-daisy near Knoxville that’s poisoning all the water? No comment on that? Don’t see any opportunity to push the importance of environment responsibility or alternative energy? Or maybe you think the people of Tennessee are already so far to the Left they don’t need to hear it?

Hey, why don’t you praise Gov. Bredesen for that $80 million the State is getting from the Department of Health and Human Services for a low-income home energy assistance program. I’m pretty sure he’s a Democrat.

Or you could praise Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN) for that $1.65 million loan and a $400,000 grant from the USDA to construct new water distribution lines and replace leaking water lines in Putnam County.

There is a crap-load of stuff going on out there, you lazy schmucks!!!

Say something!!!