[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 180 (Wednesday, November 14, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S6959]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      NOMINATION OF JOHN L. RYDER

  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I rise in response to a unanimous consent 
request from my good friend, the senior Senator from Tennessee, to 
consider the nomination of John L. Ryder of Tennessee to be a member of 
the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority, known as TVA. 
As I mentioned in Mr. Ryder's confirmation hearing, I have long 
encouraged TVA to be an industry leader in the power sector, not a 
laggard, especially when it comes to clean energy and energy 
efficiency. While I am not prepared to object to Mr. Ryder's nomination 
at this time, I am quite concerned about TVA's handling of the December 
2008 Kingston Fossil Fuel Power Plant coal ash spill clean-up efforts 
and would like to say a few words about my concerns.
  Last week, a Federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern 
District of Tennessee found that the contractor used by TVA to clean up 
the coal ash spill, Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., did not adhere to 
worker safety or health requirements, potentially causing sickness and 
death. Although TVA was not on trial, there were troubling testimonies 
from workers that called into question TVA's conduct during and after 
the clean-up efforts. The court decision allows for the families of the 
workers affected to seek compensation for medical treatments and 
damages. To date, reports show that over 30 Jacobs Engineering Group 
workers have died since working on the Kingston coal ash clean-up 
efforts and 250 workers are sick.
  In his nomination hearing, I called on Mr. Ryder to commit to ensure 
TVA is a good actor in regards to the Kingston Fossil Fuel Power Plant 
coal ash spill and is transparent to the employees and families that 
are or may be affected by this issue. He promised me he would do so. 
However, I want Mr. Ryder and my colleagues to be on notice that I will 
be working on this issue as an oversight matter and will make sure all 
the members of the TVA board and the entire workforce at TVA are good 
actors when it comes to this issue. Thank you.

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