Coal Ash Trial Continues
Plaintiff attorneys who contend the Tennessee Valley Authority should pay damages for the Kingston Plant coal ash spill have started questioning a TVA consultant who found a mechanical cause but said he did not look for management failures.
Geotechnical engineer William H. Walton was on the witness stand for a second day at the trial in Knoxville. He said Friday that TVA hired him as AECOM USA Inc.’s chief investigator to determine “why the structure failed.” He said he was not hired to determine any TVA management or operational problems.
Walton answered questions about his report, which blames the storage pond spill on a “slime layer” of ash deep underneath the surface.
Property owners who are suing contend TVA negligence caused the 2008 disaster.
The trial is to resume Tuesday.
