Judge deals 'huge win' to environmentalists in federal suit against TVA over coal ash in Gallatin

A federal judge dealt a win to environmentalists on Friday ruling against the Tennessee Valley Authority over how it stores coal ash near its Gallatin power plant.

The ruling comes after a trial earlier this year claiming the agency violated the Clean Water Act by storing coal ash in unlined storage ponds, which the Southern Environmental Law Center argued violated the act.

"This is an absolute win for us and our clients and the people of Tennessee who deserve to have clean water," said Beth Alexander, lead attorney for the SELC.

► More:What you need to know about lawsuits against TVA site in Gallatin

► More:Lawsuit: New tests connect groundwater at Gallatin TVA coal plant to Cumberland River

TVA argued there was no direct link between the ponds and the Cumberland River, but the environmental groups filed a motion just weeks ago that said TVA's own testing showed otherwise.

“Like at Kingston, it was necessary to take TVA to court to force it to take responsibility for its coal ash pollution. TVA will be required to do the right thing again, this time at Gallatin,” Alexander said in a statement.

Coal ash in Tennessee:

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► Trial set for 2018 in lawsuit by Kingston coal ash spill cleanup workers

The judge's ruling requires TVA to excavate the unlined ponds used to store the ash and and put it in a safe, lined landfill. 

In the ruling by Judge Waverly Crenshaw, the court questioned the decision to place the storage ponds above porous limestone, known as "karst," in the first place.

"The consequences of that decision continue today, and it now falls on the court to address them," the ruling reads. "The way to do so is not to cover over those decades-old mistakes, but to pull them up by their roots. TVA, as the entity responsible for the ponds, must be the entity to do so.”

Coal ash is a byproduct of burning coal for power, and has heavy metals like arsenic, mercury and lead in it, which can be harmful or fatal to humans and animals if consumed in large quantities or over long periods.

TVA spokesman Scott Brooks on Friday said, “We are reviewing the order to determine our next steps.”

This could include an appeal, but neither side would speculate on that Friday.

“It is important to note that there are no adverse human health or environmental impacts connected to the coal ash storage at Gallatin,” Brooks said. “The court noted the lack of evidence of such impacts.”

“TVA remains committed to protecting the environment as we work to convert our current coal combustion residuals to dry storage at Gallatin and across our system.”

TVA is already in the process of building a dry storage landfill and getting away from the wet storage it had used for years, but was waiting on direction from the state.

Brooks has said the utility preferred to dewater the old coal ash and then "cap and cover" in place, leaving the dry byproduct in the old ponds.

SELC tried the case on behalf of the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association and Tennessee Clean Water Network, which has been at odds with TVA for years over what they have said is a long history of coal ash pollution into the Cumberland River, where much of Gallatin and Nashville draw its drinking water.

Don Safer, a board member with the rivers association, previously told USA TODAY Network - Tennessee, "It's almost like (TVA) put it directly into the river."

TVA has not disputed that coal ash has leaked in the past, decades ago. Experts called by SELC testified that TVA's own records show 27 billion gallons of coal ash went into the river.

In comparison to other major polluting disasters, the Kingston coal ash spill in East Tennessee involved about 100 million gallons of coal ash. The Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 spilled about 130 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Reach Steve Ahillen at steve.ahillen@knoxnews.com. Reach Jake Lowary at jlowary@tennessean.com or follow him on Twitter @JakeLowary.