U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, a Republican who has announced plans to run for governor in 2010, said today that members of Congress should push for federal assistance to clean up the ash spill at TVA’s Kingston Steam Plant.

After meeting with TVA officials during a TVA Congressional Caucus meeting this morning, Rep. Wamp said assistance for the cleanup could be included in an upcoming stimulus package or in other spending bills.

Tennessee Valley Authority officials have said they don’t plan to ask Washington for money to help with cleanup. TVA Chairman Bill Sansom said this week he expects TVA ratepayers will eventually have to absorb the cost of the cleanup and lawsuits from the spill, which some speculate could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Rep. Wamp said because heavy rains may have contributed to the Dec. 22 breach, the spill should be considered as a disaster eligible for federal emergency money.

"The federal government needs to look at this as more of a Katrina-like event," he said, referring to the 2005 hurricane that devastated New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.