STEVENSON, Ala. – A retention pond at a Tennessee Valley Authority coal-burning power plant leaked waste into a northeast Alabama creek Friday, ramping up pressure on the utility that already is trying to clean up last month's major coal ash spill at a plant in Tennessee.
TVA officials said the latest discharge — water laced with calcium sulfate, a component of a material known as gypsum — presented no danger to people or the environment. But environmentalists were quick to criticize, and some lawmakers said it was more evidence Congress needs to overhaul coal waste regulations.