"I sense your frustration," said EPA Co-ordinator Leo Francendese at last night's first public meeting of the Roane Community Advisory Group.

In what can only be termed an outrageous and disappointing disclosure, all of the agencies responsible for sampling and testing the Emory River water admitted that they have not sampled for contaminants during specific periods that they know contaminants will be there, high water events after heavy rainfall. TDEC's Barbara Scott stated that they have samples from the day before and the day after the December 9 high water period but not during the rise in water level or the period when ash would most likely be stirred up by the floodwater and pushed downstream into the Clinch and Tennessee rivers.

This is not the first time this has happened. On may 4, 2009 the Emory river rose to flood level over 75,000 cubic feet per second. TDEC was called and asked to take samples but none were taken. TVA has given safety considerations as the reason for not following through, but it was pointed out that TVA is the defendant in several multimillion dollar lawsuits and that negative results from water testing could have a large affect on the outcome of those lawsuits. Not only that, but after TVA's previous failures to sample at appropriate times a dock location on private property was arranged for TVA to use during times when they were afraid to venture onto the water.

EPA's Francendese reported to us after the CAG meeting that TVA is constructing a remote sampling unit that will be in place before Christmas.

CAG member Randy Ellis pointed out that no one knows of any other instance where the defendant in lawsuits was empowered to take their own samples. TVA has already been implicated by their own Inspector General in testimony to Congress as having attempted to sway the outcome of the forensic engineering investigations into the failure of its ash dam by choosing an engineering firm that held other contracts with TVA worth millions in revenue.