Tenn. ash spill site fails to make EPA hazard list

The Tennessee site of one of the nation's worst coal ash spills failed to make a federal list of ash storage ponds posing the highest potential threat to nearby residents - a list that was compiled in response to the massive Tennessee disaster. Critics say the Kingston Fossil ( FOSL - news - people ) Plant's absence from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "high hazard" list underscores the need for greater federal oversight of coal ash and the weakness of a system that allows the Tennessee Valley Authority ( TVC - news - people ) and other ash site operators to rate their own facilities. "It's outrageous," said Steve Smith, director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. "EPA as the regulator should not be allowing the utilities to regulate themselves on the safety of toxic coal. This is a fundamentally flawed approach to protecting human health and the environment."