(The following appeared on the Knoxville News-Sentinel website on August 13, 2009.)
KINGSTON, Tenn. — A road was reopened this morning after two empty rail cars derailed near TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant ash-spill site Wednesday night.
Swan Pond Road reopened about 5:40 a.m., TVA said in a statement.
No one was injured when the cars derailed, and emergency officials were notified.
The rail cars, belonging to Norfolk Southern Railroad, were being moved into position to be ready for loading ash today, according to TVA.
Norfolk Southern officials are investigating the cause of the mishap.
Preliminary results indicate operator error while reversing the direction of the train, according to TVA.
Once track repairs are completed, normal ash recovery and coal delivery activities will resume.
The cleanup operation has been under way since the Dec. 22, 2008, spill when a dike failed at an ash retention pond, releasing 5.4 million cubic yards of sludge into nearby land and the Emory River.
The cleanup operation is being supervised by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.