STEWART COUNTY, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A report from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) lists the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Cumberland Plant in Stewart County, TN as the worst polluter of mercury in the country.
Stewart County lies to the west of Montgomery County.
The report ranks coal plants throughout the U.S. based on the levels of lead, mercury, and arsenic pollution released by each facility.
The only other Tennessee plant to make the list was the TVA Kingston Plant in Roane, TN. The report says the plant is the fifth worst for arsenic pollution.
Coal plants are the single largest industrial source of toxic water pollution in the U.S., releasing more than five billion pounds of pollutants every year into rivers, lakes and small streams, according to EIP.
“The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Cumberland power plant in Cumberland City, Tennessee, discharged 120 pounds of mercury to the Cumberland River in 2015. Based on federal standards, mercury levels as low as 77 parts per trillion can contaminate waterways and make fish unsafe to eat,” the report said.
These and other plants will likely have to install or upgrade wastewater treatment plants to reduce their pollution and comply with the new federal regulations.
The full report can viewed on the EIP’s website.