Plea deal reached in TVA nuclear inspection case

By Bill Poovey

Associated Press

CHATTANOOGA — A former electrician accused of falsifying records at the nation's only current nuclear reactor construction project while working for a Tucker-based subcontractor pleaded guilty to a federal charge Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors in East Tennessee are recommending a reduced sentence in return for Matthew Correll's cooperation.

Correll, 31, of Hixson pleaded guilty to one count of a two count-indictment that charged him with making false statements in inspection and measurement reports while working for Williams Specialty Services.

Williams is a subcontractor at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, a $2.5 billion, 1,200-megawatt reactor project expected to be finished in late 2012.

Williams Specialty Services issued a statement following Correll's arrest that said his employment ended in September 2010, and the company has cooperated with the investigation. A spokeswoman declined further comment.

U.S. Magistrate Susan Lee set an Oct. 6 sentencing.

While Correll now faces a maximum possible sentence of five years and a $250,000 fine, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Brooks signed off on the government recommending a reduced sentence in return for Correll agreeing "not to protect anyone" who was criminally involved and to testify before any grand jury or at any trial, if requested.

Brooks, who has declined comment about the case, and U.S. Attorney Bill Killian did not return telephone messages after the hearing seeking comment about the status of the investigation.

Correll admitted his guilt while standing before Lee at a hearing attended by members of his family. He was allowed to remain free on bond.

Correll's court-appointed attorney, Myrlene Marsa, declined comment as they left the courthouse.

The agreement shows that Correll admitted making about 200 falsified record entries about cables that were installed to provide energy, in some cases to safety equipment, inside the containment structure for the unfinished Unit 2 reactor at the nuclear plant between Chattanooga and Knoxville.

Killian and TVA officials said at a March news conference after Correll's arrest amid publicity about the nuclear disaster in Japan that the records were falsified in August 2010 and posed no harm to the public.

In a statement Wednesday, Killian said "falsifying work records is a serious federal offense that could ultimately affect public safety."

TVA is the nation's largest public utility and supplies power to customers in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.