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Cohen Sends Letter to TDEC Requesting More Information on Arsenic in Ground Water at TVA Allen Fossil Plant

July 17, 2017

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) sent a letter to Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) Commissioner Robert Martineau requesting more information on the recently discovered high levels of arsenic and other harmful toxins in ground water within monitoring wells at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Allen Fossil Plant in Memphis, TN. A copy of Congressman Cohen's letter can be found here.

"I am concerned about recent news that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) discovered high levels of arsenic and other harmful toxins in ground water within monitoring wells at the Allen Fossil Plant," said Congressman Cohen in his letter. "â€ĶI would appreciate your informing me:

1)How TDEC reached its conclusion that these contaminants are not impacting drinking water and the basis for its conclusion;

2)What TVA and TDEC are doing to ensure that these contaminants are not impacting, and will not impact drinking water;

3)What TVA and TDEC are doing to ensure that the Memphis Sand aquifer, a precious interstate resource, remains a viable source of drinking water."

Congressman Cohen sent multiple letters to TVA President Bill Johnson in 2016-2017 expressing concern about TVA's decision to pursue the use of water from the Memphis Sands Aquifer to cool the natural gas generators at the Allen Plant and its impact on drinking water in Memphis. You can read those letters here, here and here.