That's missing my point by a mile. Bottom line is burning coal is a dirty business, from end to end, mining to dealing with the pollution pulled out of the scrubbers. Yes, there was a unusually string of heavy rain days before the Kingston pond failed, but the pond had leaked for years, needed constant maintenance, and the toxic waste doesn't turn into fertilizer over time, so the point is this waste would have to be dealt with long after we're all dead, and our kids are dead, with or without this failure. The lining under some of these ponds (some aren't lined at all) will eventually fail, and surprise, it will be future taxpayers in 2050 or 2080 or whenever most likely on the hook for a Superfund Round III style cleanup after nearby residents all over the country near these old toxic waste storage sites complain about heavy metals and other pollutants in their drinking water.... Etc.
Point is who was or wasn't at fault is beside the point - burning coal produces a LOT of pollution at every step and I see no reason to encourage its use, especially not when we have cleaner alternatives.