Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today made the following remarks regarding a spill from the gypsum pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Widow's Creek Fossil Plant in Stevenson, Alabama:

Senator Boxer said: "The Tennessee Valley Authority has a lot to answer for - the first step is to prevent further spills and damage to communities around its plants. I have asked the TVA for a complete assessment of the safety of its waste disposal sites and their plans for upgrading those sites. This second pollution spill must be a wakeup message to the TVA and to the U.S. EPA that the current situation is unacceptable."

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