Oak Ridge Today

TVA retires Bull Run Fossil Plant

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An aerial view of the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton is pictured above. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Valley Authority)

The Tennessee Valley Authority has retired the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton.

The plant burned the last of its onsite coal onsite in August, ending a 48-day run. TVA retired the plant December 1.

The TVA Board of Directors approved the retirement of Bull Run on February 14, 2019. That followed an environmental review process that included public input, TVA said.

Bull Run began operating in 1967. At the time it was the largest in the world in the volume of steam produced, according to TVA. Located on 750 acres in Claxton across from Oak Ridge, it was the only single-unit power plant in the TVA system, and it was designed to produce up to 950 megawatts. It has an 800-foot reinforced concrete chimney.

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AC Democratic Party to discuss Bull Run closing

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Adam Hughes

Adam Hughes, East Tennessee coordinator of Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment (SOCM), will discuss the closing of the Bull Run Steam Plant in a virtual meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, January 20, hosted by the Anderson County Democratic Party.

The steam plant, also known as the Tennessee Valley Authority Bull Run Fossil Plant, first opened in 1967. The coal-fired power plant is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2023, and many questions surround the plant closing concerning the long-term effects on groundwater, air, and soil quality in Anderson County, a press release said. Hughes will address these concerns at the meeting, the press release said. [Read more…]

TVA conducting maintenance at Bull Run

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The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority is conducting routine maintenance inside the boiler at the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton, and the activities, which make use of the plant’s public address system, might continue for the next week or so, a spokesman said Monday.

During the maintenance, TVA is using small blasting caps to remove the buildup of slag, a byproduct at the coal-fired plant.

Residents in Anderson County have been asking about the recent sounds of sirens at Bull Run, including at night.

In a statement, TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said TVA is using the plant’s public address system to alert and communicate with employees on site, but no sirens or other alarms are activated.

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TVA will blast rock to build substation

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The Tennessee Valley Authority is building a substation off Old Edgemoor Lane at Haw Ridge Park, near Edgemoor Road in east Oak Ridge. The construction work is pictured above on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority and its work crews will blast rock in the next several weeks to build an electrical substation in east Oak Ridge. The new substation is being built before the Bull Run Fossil Plant, across the Clinch River in Claxton, closes in 2023.

The blasting was scheduled to start Thursday, January 21, but it was delayed due to weather. When it starts, the blasting work could last three weeks, TVA said in a press release. Controlled, low-charge detonations will be used to blast the rock. Blasting will occur periodically between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and traffic and pedestrian controls will be in place, TVA said.

The new Anderson County substation site is off Old Edgemoor Road at Haw Ridge Park, near Edgemoor Road.

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Thursday night’s Bull Run meeting canceled due to flooding

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The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The fifth Bull Run community meeting that had been scheduled for tonight (Thursday, February 6) has been canceled because Claxton Elementary School is closed due to flooding.

The meeting had earlier been scheduled for Thursday, January 30, but that meeting was postponed one week (to today, February 6) because of illnesses that led to the two-day closure of Anderson County Schools.

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AC Commission schedules public hearing on TVA request for landfill at Bull Run

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The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Anderson County Commission has scheduled a public hearing to discuss a request from the Tennessee Valley Authority to build a 60-acre landfill on the Bull Run Fossil Plant site in Claxton.

The hearing is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Tuesday, February 18, in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse at 100 North Main Street in Clinton.

The proposed new landfill is known Site J, and it has been characterized as a three-cell unit capable of holding eight to nine million cubic yards of coal combustion residuals, according to a public hearing notice.

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TVA says Claxton material that caused concern is consistent with soil

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Note: This story was last updated at 4:50 p.m.

The Tennessee Valley Authority said Thursday that the material that caused concern in Claxton, near the Bull Run Fossil Plant, is consistent with surface soil.

The material had reportedly fallen on vehicles, houses, mailboxes, and driveways in Claxton near Bull Run, a coal-fired TVA power plant. That raised concerns that the material might be coming from Bull Run.

On Thursday, TVA said it collected 11 samples and received three samples from a home owner and sent them to an independent laboratory for testing. That was in response to the concerns about the airborne materials found on vehicles and property around Bull Run, TVA said.

“Results show the material is not coming from air emissions at Bull Run and is consistent with surface soil in the area,” TVA said. “TDEC (Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation) also sampled material at several locations, and their results affirm that the material is consistent with surface soil.”

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TDEC: Most material tested in Claxton, after residents expressed concern, was soil

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Note: This story was last updated at 4:50 p.m.

The vast majority of the material tested in Claxton, after residents raised concerns about an unidentified substance falling around the Bull Run Fossil Plant, was soil, a state official said Thursday.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said it sampled material in the area, and TDEC Deputy Communications Director Kim Schofinski released a short statement Thursday.

“TDEC takes the concerns of citizens very seriously, and in response to their direct requests, we independently conducted sampling of the material in the area,” the statement said. “We also reviewed lab results from samples taken by TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) and citizens…All results indicated the vast majority of the material was soil. As it relates to coal ash, sampling results ranged from non-detectable amounts, amounts too low to quantify, or trace amounts.

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TVA creating community group for Bull Run Fossil Plant, looking for volunteers

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The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority is seeking volunteers as it creates a Community Action Group for the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton.

The volunteers could focus on issues related to TVA’s management of the plant, an email notice said.

“TVA is committed to doing the right thing to handle the legacy of coal generation and ensuring the safety of the workforce and the communities where TVA has or had fossil plants,” the notice said. “As part of its commitment to safety and best practices to protect its workers and local residents, TVA is creating a Community Action Group for the facility (Bull Run).”

According to the notice, the core responsibilities of this volunteer group will be to:

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TVA has open houses about Bull Run Fossil Plant this week

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The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority will have two open houses next week to discuss the future of the Bull Run Fossil Plant, a coal-burning power plant in Claxton that is scheduled to close in about four years.

One open house will be in Oak Ridge, and the other will be in Claxton. Both are open to the public.

The first open house is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, July 16, at the YWCA at 1660 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The second is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, July 15, at Claxton Elementary School at 2218 Clinton Highway.

“This will be an open house format, where the public can interact with TVA staff and experts on the various activities at Bull Run, including the future of coal combustion residuals at the site,” TVA said in an announcement.

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TDEC to attend county’s Bull Run meeting on June 10

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The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation will attend a June 10 meeting where the planned closure of the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton will be discussed, a county commissioner said.

It will be the June 10 monthly meeting of the Anderson County Commission’s Intergovernmental Committee. The public is encouraged to attend, said Anderson County Commissioner Catherine Denenberg of District 6 in Oak Ridge.

TDEC is the state department that is responsible for monitoring the Tennessee Valley Authority, Denenberg said.

“They will have a Power Point presentation and will be there to answer questions about their involvement with the closing of the Bull Run Fossil plant in Claxton,” Denenberg said.

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TVA seeks public input on proposed changes to ash storage at Bull Run

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The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority is proposing changes to plans for closure of a coal ash storage area and wastewater treatment at its Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton. TVA is asking the public to comment on those revisions in a draft supplemental environmental assessment issued on April 22. That document is available at www.tva.com/nepa.

The revised draft supplemental environmental assessment will consider the potential environmental impacts of several alternatives for closure of the main ash impoundment, a press release said. The project would include turning a portion of the impoundment into a temporary process water basin during construction of a permanent basin for wastewater and storm water at the site. The current stilling pond would be closed, with ash removed to an existing onsite landfill, and turned into the permanent process water basin, the press release said.

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