What She Said: Alexander Channels Boxer on TVA

In January during a U.S. Senate hearing on TVA's December coal ash spill in Kingston, California Democrat Barbara Boxer was leading calls for the mega-utility to come out of the disaster as a leader in green power research. At the same event Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander looked like he was playing mostly defense for beleaguered TVA, instead of criticizing and focusing on reform in the future.

Alexander is telling the Chattanooga paper now that TVA needs to be a leader in the clean disposal of coal ash. We shall see if the Senator, who receives pretty donations from utilities, is serious about becoming a reformer on TVA.

In the mean time, TVA is restoring the ash that it spilled into the Emory River on its site once again. Since they bought 40 properties in the surrounding neighborhoods, now they have even more room for coal ash storage. Old habits die hard.