Energy
CLARIFICATIONS/CORRECTIONS: This story has been updated to reflect that workers for Jacobs, a contractor hired by the Tennessee Valley Authority to help clean up a 2008 coal ash spill in East Tennessee, say they were misled by supervisors about the dangers of coal ash exposure, citing safety managers who told them they could safely eat a pound of coal ash a day without harm. The company says the statements were not meant to be taken literally.
Tennessee lawmakers are considering a resolution to express support for a bill in Congress that would require TVA's board of directors to hold open meetings.
State Sen. Ken Yager, of Kingston, is asking for a Senate resolution to support a bill in Congress to
require TVA to hold open meetings that the public can attend.
State Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, explained Senate Joint Resolution 192 in a Senate committee meeting this week, in which the resolution won unanimous approval.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today asked House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on which he serves to conduct a hearing on the impact of coal plants and coal ash dumps on groundwater quality. See his letter here.
WASHINGTON – Congressmen Steve Cohen (TN-09) and Tim Burchett (TN-02) today wrote Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) President William D. Johnson demanding answers about TVA's announcement that ratepayers might have to pay for the misdeeds of the contractor it used for cleanup work at its Kingston plant, following the nation's worst coal ash spill.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), who was named to the Committee on Science, Space and Technology last week, today was selected by his congressional colleagues to serve on its Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight and on its Subcommittee on Research and Technology.
Congressman Cohen made the following comment:
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, today introduced amendments to the annual Department of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (H.R. 6147) to prohibit the federal government from spending money at businesses owned by President Trump. The Congressman contends such spending violates a Constitutional anti-corruption provision that prohibit any President from receiving funding from the federal government beyond his salary.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) expressed cautious relief that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, the subject of numerous ethics scandals and corruption allegations, has at long last resigned. He released the following statement:
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) received a 100 percent scores from the League of Conservation Voters on Tuesday after its assessment of his voting record. In addition to his 100 percent score this year from the League, Congressman Cohen has the highest lifetime conservation score of the entire Tennessee congressional delegation.
Congressman Cohen welcomed the recognition and made the following statement:
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, today announced that he will be introducing articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump following the President's comments on the horrific events in Charlottesville, Virginia.