Stevenson - The Tennessee Valley Authority says initial tests show no major environmental damage from a spill at the Widows Creek power plant in northeast Alabama.

Test results show slightly elevated levels of more than a dozen substances downstream from the plant, where a pond containing coal wastes leaked Friday. Those include the metals aluminum, arsenic, magnesium and sulfate.

But the utility said Monday the levels meet primary federal standards for drinking water. Tests are continuing, but the damage appears far less than a major coal ash spill at a TVA plant in Tennessee last month.

The Widows Creek plant is near the town of Stevenson, where utilities manager Brent Blackmon said the initial test results are reason for optimism.

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