Today marks the 9^th anniversary of one of the darkest days in Roane County history. A worse-case scenario occurred at the TVA Kingston Fossil Plant on Dec. 22, 2008 when a dike holding back over 5 million cubic yards of fly ash ruptured spilling onto 300 acres of the Swan Pond area and into the Emory River. The incident was covered by news agencies around the world as it was the largest fly ash release in United States history. The disaster took several years to cleanup and cost billions of dollars. The event’s repercussions continue to be felt as several of those on cleanup details have filed lawsuits against The TVA and contractor Jacob’s Engineering because of illnesses or even deaths which have been attributed to the toxic waste.