TVA seeks comment on ‘dewatering’ facility at Kingston, would allow dry storage

Kingston Fossil Plant is located on Watts Bar Reservoir on the Tennessee River near Kingston. At the time it was finished in 1955, Kingston was the largest coal-burning power plant in the world, a distinction it held for more than a decade. (Photo courtesy TVA)

HARRIMAN—As part of a commitment to change the way ash and coal products are handled, the Tennessee Valley Authority is proposing to design and build a new facility that would dry out byproduct streams of bottom ash and pyrite at the Kingston Fossil Plant.

The change would allow these coal-burning byproducts to be stored in an onsite, dry landfill.

This project supports TVA’s plan to close all wet ponds containing coal combustion residue and convert them to dry storage throughout TVA’s coal fleet. Kingston is the first of TVA’s fossil plants to undergo the conversion.

An environmental assessment is being prepared to inform TVA decision-makers and the public about the environmental consequences of the proposed action. It is available for review and comment from April 2-May 5, 2015.

Two alternatives are under consideration: No action and construction of a “dewatering” facility.

If built, the bottom ash/pyrite stream would leave the coal plant and be pumped via conveyor to the new dewatering facility. Moisture would be removed, and the dry product would be loaded onto trucks and hauled to an onsite landfill for disposal. The waste water would be processed and eventually discharged according to regulatory requirements.

The draft environmental assessment is available online at the TVA website at http://www.tva.com/environment/reports/kingston_dewatering/index.htm or by contacting Ashley Farless, Tennessee Valley Authority, 1101 Market St., BR 4A, Chattanooga, TN, 37402.

Comments on the draft environmental assessment, including the alternatives and affected environmental resources considered in the document, may be submitted until May 5, 2015, either online at the web address or mailed to Farless.

The Kingston Fossil Plant is a 1.7 gigawatt, coal-burning power plant with nine generating units located in Roane County, on the shore of Watts Bar Lake.