Activists Detained For Taking Ash Spill Photographs
Two environmental activists were detained by the Tennessee Valley Authority police for photographing the site of last weeks ash spill. While it does not appear that they will be charged with crimes, they were unable to document the ash spill’s effects on the area and its water supply.
The men, who are from the Knoxville based United Mountain Defense, say that TVA has yet to release the water toxicity results. They say they have the right to take their own measurements and photographs unless TVA shows their results. “This is an issue of national importance,” said David Cooper. “People need to know if the water is safe or not.”
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The environmental disaster, which covered 400 acres in ash, has demonstrated the fragility of supposed ecological safeguards. It begs the question of whether or not we can trust the same people who created the problem to give us accurate information about the disaster’s clean up and aftermath. The activists said that they will take their water samples and run the required tests.
While the men were let go and forced to leave the premises after an hour of detainment, in some ways our collective rights were infringed upon. If we cannot simply gather data without being harassed by police, then what actions can we freely and safely take?
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Jerry Greer
It is a public site.
Like always, American’s are always complaining about private property. Forget private property. I hope any reader that is educated understands that the institution of private property is the destruction of liberty. It’s not hard to see. I’m getting off topic here but this matter goes beyond the issue of trespassing on private property. What I’m getting from Michael is that they were asking for it by trespassing on private property when this ash spill is defacing property beyond its borders, the quality of the air we all breath and the water the area’s residents will be drinking? Our health is not as important as the sanctity of private property? I don’t know about you but this just doesn’t seem right…
“If this were about alleged drug dealers or possible illegal aliens, or some other right wing hang-up, and people believed there were criminal activities going on, you know damned well you wouldn’t have any problem with some private citizen violating the alleged’s private property for the sake of gathering evidence.”
Now why do I think you are right on the money, isnamthere?
Guys,
I’m an environmental and natural history photographer and I just returned from a trip to the site. They have it sealed up like a drum! I was able to get some photos of the area but I did get a lot of heat from the local Sheriffs Dept. I was in one area next to the cove that is now filled with ash/sludge and no less than five Sheriff’s Dept. cars came flying up, lights and all, and escorted each of us away. They didn’t even say a word other than you must leave NOW! It was really freaky. No one can get in to the homes or near the actual levee breakage site to photograph it. When I got there it was so foggy that I decided to shoot the Fossil plant and the lake, I’ll be posting them on my blog soon http://www.jerrydgreer.wordpress.com , from a public boat ramp under the I-40 bridge. I was visited by the TVA Police twice, they asked me what I was doing. I said nicely, photographing this beautiful scene! I then smiled and walked back to my camera and continued shooting. They didn’t like my answer but what were they going to do? Not a thing! I was at a public boat ramp.
BTW, the guys that were detained are from a local and very known activist group. I’m certain that they were detained for that very reason. They are very well known by the TVA police force. They were also taking water samples and everyone that was doing so was treated hostilely. They are really trying to hide the fact that this is a major disaster and lives around this site are in danger, if not now, in the future for sure!
I assume the photo above is the only power plant photo you have? It’s not Kingston. Kingston is fossil. The one above is nuclear. No smoke stacks, just cooling towers.
Tom, remember September 11? Try to set foot on ANY government property and see what happens. All government installations respond with prejudice these days. Government property has NEVER meant public property either.
Actually, it’s not a question of whether it’s private property. It’s a question of whether the people taking the samples/photographs were legally entitled to be where they were, doing what they were doing.
A person can’t just show up on government property and claim a right to be there and do whatever he wants. Sure, there are some types of government property a citizen normally is entitled to be on - a park, a sidewalk, a street - but there’s all kinds of government property a citizen can enter only under the terms & conditions set out by the government.
So - where exactly were these guys? I’ll bet that they were at a location under the control of the TVA and if so, yeah, the TVA can kick them off.
As for pictures, it basically comes down to where they were when they took them. If they were not on public property, then the camera/media can be taken by security people, though not erased, at least, not legally. Anyone interested in this topic should go to http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm for a nice one page explanation of a photographer’s rights.
>TVA is a Public Utility –therefore that was NOT private property.
Uhhhh…. Right. What a pathetic analogy… And the government is owned by the people, so why don’t you get your smart ass over to Area 51, jump the fences and start taking photos there?
Public entities own property and they have every right to restrict access.
So opponents of the TVA are gonna do their own tests to “document the ash spill’s effects on the area and its water supply.”
Gee, wonder how those “tests” are going to turn out.
They were taking photos along the public road where the houses were destroyed! This is NOT property of TVA. This is on a public road with homes that are along the banks of the reservoir cove that is now full of fly ash sludge! Understand, the material came from TVA property and ended up filling an entire cove on a Watts Bar Reservoirs. Not only did it fill the cove it took out private homes and public roads (Swan Pond and Swan Pond Loop are the roads that were affected) along the banks of the reservoir! If you want to see a high resolution map go to Map Quest and type in Swan Pond, TN. This is the highest resolution map that I’ve seen, Google Maps is not.
BTW, TVA is a Government-owned independent corporation.
Michael’s right…either this is private property, in which case the arrests were justified, or it wasn’t, in which case that should have been specifically noted for the sake of clarity. The nominal reason for the detention is extremely relevant to the story. The decision not to address it suggests that the reporter is a partisan activist.