The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge welcomes the community to Lunch with the League at 12 PM to 1:00 PM EST, Tuesday, January 4. In an effort to keep everyone safe during this time of pandemic, the gathering will again be virtual. The zoom link will be distributed to LWVOR members and friends who attend regularly. Others who desire to gain access to the meeting may do so by following the instructions provided at the close of this article.

Impact of the Coal Ash Spill (Kingston) and the Coal Ash Stockpile (Anderson County) on Workers and the General Public

On Monday, December 22, 2008, a retaining wall of a dike at the Kingston Coal Plant failed and released what was to be the largest toxic coal ash spill in U.S. history. Billions of gallons of coal ash sludge swept homes off their foundations, buried some, covered 300 acres of Roane County with thick coal slop and contaminated the Clinch River. While there were no initial deaths from the incident, the true cost of human life would be revealed years later when 30 cleanup workers died and hundreds more became sick. This is the story Jamie Satterfield set out to tell and is that for which she is most known. She will speak on the impact the spill continues to have on our community at our January 4, 2022, Lunch With the League presentation.

Jamie Satterfield is an investigative journalist with more than 33 years of experience, specializing in legal affairs, policing, public corruption, environmental crime and civil rights violations. Her journalism has been recognized as some of the best in the nation, earning recognition from the Scripts Howard Foundation, the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi Awards, the Green Eyeshade Awards, the Tennessee Press Association, the Tennessee Managing Editors Association, the First Amendment Center and many other industry organizations. She personally presented her investigative findings in the cover-up of poisoning of a workforce to federal agents and county grand jury in the fall of 2021.

Our community owes a debt of gratitude to Jamie Satterfield for her dedication and fearless resolve to tell the truth about environmental hazards that impact our health and wellbeing.

Lunch with the League welcomes League members and nonmembers alike to this informative presentation.  For instructions on linking to the live presentation, contact maryannreeves1 [at] att.net (). All League members and regular attendees will receive an e-mail with the zoom link prior to the meeting. A couple of days following the presentation, you may view the recorded presentation on the League’s website (lwvoakridge.org).

 

The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge is a nonpartisan political organization for men and women.  It encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.