Federal utility backs off Tennessee gas plant site after John Rich says he enlisted Trump's help

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The nation's largest public utility says it is looking at other sites for a new natural gas power plant after its preferred location in Tennessee drew heavy public scrutiny, including from country musician John Rich.

The Tennessee Valley Authority announced Tuesday that the Cheatham County site is no longer its preferred one.

Rich, a conservative supporter of President Donald Trump who has Cheatham County roots, has been a key opponent of TVA's 900-megawatt plant in the county. He said he enlisted Trump to team up on the issue. A TVA spokesperson declined to comment about Rich’s comments, including whether Trump was involved. A White House spokesperson also declined to comment.

The community has raised concerns about the potential impact on water quality, air quality, noise pollution, safety, property rights and more, in a rural area that also has homes and schools nearby. Clean energy and environmental groups have also led resistance to the proposal.

Rich said Trump and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins “joined forces with me and all the residents of Cheatham County.”

“They pulled out under threat,” Rich said about TVA in a social media post Tuesday. "They pulled out because they’re afraid President Trump is going to fire every member on that board.”

Based on feedback, the federal utility says it is considering a site at a nearby industrial park and other Middle Tennessee locations.

Additionally, it floated options such as working with the Trump administration to extend the use of some fossil fuel plants. The utility has been planning to retire the last of its coal-fired plants by 2035. But Trump has signed executive orders aimed at boosting the coal industry.

Power from the proposed Cheatham plant was intended to replace some of the electricity from the second unit of the coal-fired Cumberland Fossil Plant, which had been planned for retirement in 2028 but is now among the coal units being evaluated for potentially longer life.

The site that sparked opposition includes the power plant and a battery storage system on 286 acres in Cheatham County, in addition to a 12-mile natural gas pipeline and up to 45 miles of transmission lines to the project. Rich last week posted a map showing many areas of farmland around the preferred area, saying it “CANNOT happen.” Rollins, the agriculture secretary, replied, “ON IT” and “Standby.”

Rich additionally has called for a “complete revamping” of TVA, saying, “Cheatham County ain't the only place they're doing this.”

Any final decision on the plant would need to await the installation of more TVA board members.

Trump recently announced four nominees for the board, which for months has not had enough members to take many actions because Trump fired some of former President Joe Biden’s picks. TVA provides power to more than 10 million people across seven southern states.

The board normally has nine members and requires five to make a quorum. It currently has three. Trump’s picks would not be seated until the U.S. Senate confirms them.

Clean energy advocates applauded TVA’s decision to back off the Cheatham County location, but said it should instead invest more in clean energy options and heed the concern of communities where similar gas plants are proposed in Cumberland City, Kingston and Memphis.

“Instead of simply shifting those harmful impacts to another area, TVA should scrap its plans for a new gas plant altogether and invest in clean and cost-effective power options, like solar power and battery storage,” said Trey Bussey, a staff attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center.

FILE - Members of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors listen to members of the public during a meeting May 8, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)