Coal Ash developments...

Two items...GQ has a cover story titled "Black Tide" on the spilling of the coal ash in Tennessee by the TVA, and the Selma Times-Journal has questioned Rep. Artur Davis about the tons of ash that will likely end up in a Perry County dump. The paper reports at one point:

Davis has no real authority over the movements by the agencies and the county, other than to voice his opinion. “While the transfer of millions of tons of coal ash may not violate Alabama’s environmental standards, it is well known that Alabama’s standards are weaker than the standards set by most of our neighbors,” Davis said Monday. “My consistent position has been that while local counties have leeway to decide whether they want to operate landfills, there are serious public policy issues at stake when potentially hazardous wastes are dumped into a community.”

Uh, "no real authority"? Two U.S. House committees keep an eye on what TVA is up to. And the chair of one of them has promised increased oversight. If a member of Congress has no real authority over TVA, then I guess nobody does. Hell, even I can "voice (an) opinion" about it. And what happens now with those serious policy issues? Also: has anyone managed to get fellow Democratic candidate for governor Ron Sparks on the record on the coal ash story?

Also this week, an audit report on the TVA's miserable communication with the public following the spill.