Anda Ray’s TVA
May 21, 2009
The TVA PR machine begins. How better way to start with a picture of an attractive female who looks so assuring, so motherly?
Anda Ray may be the last competent staffer in the TVA. Her article is compassionate, more so than to the degree TVA usually shows compassion (none).
It’s a smart move by CEO Tom Kilgore because now TVA has a face and a fire point collector on anything involving Kingston. I’m sure he will divert any questions about it to Anda Ray.
But hers is an impossible task. To be loyal to TVA and to minimize their costs of the project on one hand and to be caring and compassionate to TVA’s customers on the other is a first-class conflict of interest.
Her article* omits much of what the people want to know, the ones ultimately who must pay TVA’s bills. For example, “How much is this going to cost?” The estimate so far, “a billion dollars”, and it surely will escalate.
And the really big question, “Is TVA off the hook in paying any legal judgments against it?” If so, the clear language in the TVA Act will have been ignored. It says the TVA can “sue and be sued.” Can one federal law be superseded by another federal law?
In the recent billion dollar suit the TVA lost (NC vs. TVA) a federal judge ruled that the sovereignty exemption did not apply. That was a “shocker” to the TVA.
As a former federal employee with experience in both field and Washington offices, I saw how regional administrators tried but failed to get the necessary cooperation of agencies, for them “to work together”. Here was the order from my regional administrator: “Cooperation is mandatory”. There is no such animal on this planet. Each federal agency, department or bureau stems from a federal law. And there is no such language in the multiplicity of them that “requires” cooperation. If it’s not in their law, in their budget then forget it.
That is why it practically is impossible to get the necessary “cooperation” between federal agencies and when a state agency is thrown in the mix, well, you get the idea.
The whole Kingston matter should have been turned over to a private contractor who would have incentive enough to do the job quickly with full consideration of all parties concerned, including citizens directly affected.
The way the process is structured at this time as outlined by Anda Ray will be excruciatingly slow and the huge costs will come out incrementally. Maybe that’s the way TVA would rather have it.
If TVA’s rates do not climb astronomically it will be because the whole financing structure of TVA changes.
Good luck, Anda Ray.
Ernest Norsworthy
*See article in the Tennessean May 21, 2009
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090521/OPINION01/905210323/1008/TVA+stands+ready+to+work+with+EPA
emnorsworthy@earthlink.net
http://norsworthyopinion.com