NOTE: The following article inadvertently was omitted from Part 1 of 2 of the TVA timeline. Part 2 immediately follows.
Timeline January 1, 2009
Criminal investigation of TVA dam debacle?
January 1, 2009
“What did the President know and when did he know it?” Sen. Howard Baker, 1973 Watergate Hearings
In its usual casual manner TVA has tried to slough off yet another billion dollar mistake. The cover up started on day-one. Of course, no one knows what the eventual costs will be for a long time. But many more are becoming aware of TVA’s aloof arrogance, its blatant unwillingness to admit its own mistakes. In this case, TVA blamed “the rain” or the “freezing weather”.
But one thing is certain; under the present structure of TVA financing it is the ratepayers who must pay for TVA’s incompetence and dilatory actions.
Here are some givens; TVA is deeply in debt, now at about $25 billion, and is yelping for more billions to finance some wildly expensive nuclear plants in Alabama that easily will exceed TVA’s maximum $30 billion statutory loan amount. TVA plows ahead with those plans even though the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has not given final approval of the reactor design. Millions of dollars already have been committed.
World financial markets are in crisis and it is doubtful TVA could sell its bonds at a low enough interest rate. Right now, TVA must borrow money just to pay off interest on accruing notes. Fee income to the TVA is not sufficient to sustain financial viability. TVA now has a one billion dollar short term loan from the Bank of America. Unbelievable.
As a federal agency, TVA is the federal government and whatever TVA does, does not stay there; TVA’s actions affect all American taxpayers.
Much of TVA’s present debt was caused by TVA management failures, failures that keep on compounding one after the other.
The dam blowout at the Kingston plant, said one resident, “sounded like a tornado”, according to a news report. Irreparable damage has been done to the community, the State of Tennessee and to all of the 8.8 million people who must buy TVA electricity.
Sounding more and more Katrina-like in slow, chaotic, and confused government reaction, this should be the final nail in TVA’s plague-ridden coffin. The covering up of its long trail of gross mismanagements (I have the gory details) can now be over.
Here are some reasons possible criminal investigations of TVA’s actions or policies should be undertaken:
- Negligence in carrying out the inspection and proper maintenance of the Kingston plant retaining pond of waste coal ash leading to its explosive break and subsequent major damage to homes and property.
- Because of weak and error prone financial reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission it appears that the TVA is covering up some financial dealings.
- It appears that bonuses and pay increases are based on false premises.
- The TVA board of directors and the TVA CEO failed to see the significance of the error of combining operations and executive controls on one computer system without realizing the major possibility of subjecting the entire TVA electrical grid to cyber attacks. This in turn could affect the rest of the electrical grid in the United States. (See GAO report)
- Erroneously justified pay scales based on improper comparables.
- Increased TVA electricity rates excessively and without proper cause.
- Failed to seek restitution for many unaccounted for laptop computers.
- Entering into agreements illegally for work to be performed on not yet authorized borrowing authority.
- Evidence of assuring bonuses over the safety of workers and surrounding communities.
- Apparently the old TVA policy of profiting from land sales and swaps continues despite Executive Order 13406.
- Consider filing suit to challenge the legality of the TVA Act of 1933.
As to the present Kingston dam disaster, the President of the U.S. immediately should appoint a federal “czar”, a hard as nails “take charge person” to take over the TVA, the clean up, and all of the nasty details of dissolving the TVA, liquidating its assets in an orderly fashion so as not to disrupt electricity service in any corner of TVA’s 80,000 square-mile territory.
This person would assure total transparency of operations and to attend the needs of people and families directly affected by TVA’s dilatory action first and to the health and safety of the thousands of people who could be affected.
When this enormous mess is cleaned up the Southeastern region of the U.S. can throw off its federal yoke to thrive and grow again with its new entrepreneurial opportunities, not dependent on a government that is very undependable.
Ernest Norsworthy
emnorsworthy@earthlink.net
http://norsworthyopinion.com