Alabama dump taking TVA's spilled coal ash declares bankruptcy

Source Institute for Southern Studies

The landfill in Perry County, Ala. that has been taking coal ash spilled from the failed waste pond at Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston plant has declared bankruptcy -- a move that leaves a planned lawsuit to halt the dumping up in the air. Arrowhead Landfill owner Perry-Uniontown Ventures I LLC, also known as Perry County Associates, filed for bankruptcy last week in Mobile, Ala., the Selma Times-Journal reports: In court documents filed with the bankruptcy petition, Perry-Uniontown Ventures I LLC claimed two other operations, Phillips & Jordan Inc. and Phill-Con Services have withheld money paid by the TVA for accepting coal ash at the landfill located near Uniontown. The complaint also asked for an accounting, indicating PUV did not know where the money paid by TVA for the disposal went. Perry-Uniontown Ventures I LLC claims its three largest creditors are P&J for $3.9 million, the Perry County Commission for $779,837 and the Alabama Department of Revenue for $11,000 in sales tax. TVA and its disposal contractor say the bankruptcy filing won't stop ash shipments to the facility. However, the filing automatically brings a halt to a planned lawsuit aimed at stopping the dumping, since no new litigation can be brought against entities in bankruptcy proceedings.