KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A settlement in the lawsuit stemming from the clean-up at the Kingston ash spill site has been reached.

In December of 2008, a torrent of muddy sludge, including coal ash, poured down from storage areas around the Kingston Fossil Plant into Emory River and buried nearby properties. Tennessee Valley Authority hired Jacobs Engineering for the huge job of picking up that ash.

Workers on the project claimed that the company did not offer the right protection, causing some to get sick or even die in the years that followed.

Workers and their families sued in federal court. In 2022, a three-judge panel ruled that Jacobs was not immune from possibly being held liable.

Jacobs’s website dedicated to the spill response now reads: “In 2023, to avoid further litigation, the parties chose to enter into an agreement to resolve the cases. The terms of this settlement are confidential.”