Oak Ridge Today

Local environmental board meets with federal, state agencies to discuss cleanup mission

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

annual-meeting-2016-web

The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board holds its annual planning meeting in August 2016 with U.S. Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. (Submitted photo)

 

In August, members of a citizen’s advisory board met with representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to consider key issues for Oak Ridge Reservation cleanup in fiscal year 2017, which begins in October.

The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board held its 2016 Annual Planning Meeting in Townsend, Tennessee, on August 6. The Saturday meeting brought together members of the Oak Ridge board, leadership from DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM, and liaisons from federal and state regulatory agencies to review cleanup accomplishments in FY 2016 and discuss priorities for FY 2017.

ORSSAB is a federally chartered citizens’ panel that provides recommendations to OREM on its environmental management activities at DOE sites locally. OREM encourages public participation in federal projects and meets regularly with the Oak Ridge board, as well as with other citizen and stakeholder groups within the community to gather public perspectives regarding a diverse cleanup mission that addresses legacy nuclear waste at sites across the Oak Ridge Reservation through numerous activities, including waste disposition, long-term stewardship, and site restoration. [Read more…]

Council to consider water rate, sewer rate, trash fee increases

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Oak Ridge City Council 2014

The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above in 2014. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:38 a.m.

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider increases in the water and sewer rates that would go into effect in January 2017 and January 2018 during a regular meeting tonight (Monday, September 12). Council will also consider a trash fee increase that members endorsed during budget deliberations in June.

A 6 percent increase has been proposed for both water and sewer rates starting January 1, 2017. The next year, effective January 1, 2018, a 4 percent increase has been proposed for water rates and a 6 percent increase has been proposed for sewer rates.

A home that uses the minimum amount would pay an extra $2.26 per month for water and sewer starting in 2017 and an additional $2.17 per month in 2018.

A home that uses 5,000 gallons per month would pay $5.33 more per month for both water and sewer in 2017 and another $4.87 in 2018.
[Read more…]

TVA decides coal combustion residuals more safely stored in place, including at Bull Run

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Bull Run Fossil Plant Ash Impoundment Closure

The Tennessee Valley Authority will move forward with a plan to permanently and safely store coal ash and other coal combustion residuals on TVA property at 10 locations across the service area, including the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton, officials said Friday.

The decision follows a year-long review of the potential environmental impacts detailed in an environmental impact statement, which addressed comments from 10 public open houses and additional opportunities for public input, a press release said.

See the final environmental impact statements, including for Bull Run Fossil Plant, here.

The EIS looked at two options for the future storage of coal combustion residuals, or CCR: closure-in-place and closure-by-removal. The preferred option for the 10 impoundments is closure-in-place, the press release said. [Read more…]

ORISE building earns EPA’s Energy Star certification for energy efficiency

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

ORISE-EPA-Energy-Star-Certification-1

From left to right are Director of Facilities and Transportation Department Chad Becker, Facilities Management Services Manager Eddy Whitson, and Sustainability Manager Kevin Fritts display the new EPA Energy Star certification for the ORISE Facilities and Transportation Department office in background behind them. (Photo by ORAU)

 

The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education’s Facilities and Transportation Department office building, managed by ORAU, has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star certification, which signifies that the building, located off Bethel Valley Road in Oak Ridge, performs in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and meets strict energy-efficiency performance levels set by the EPA.

“We are pleased to accept the EPA’s Energy Star certification in recognition of ORISE’s energy-efficiency efforts,” said ORISE Director and ORAU President Andy Page. “Through this achievement along with our corporate office building earning the first new, gold-level LEED-certified office building in Tennessee, we have demonstrated our commitment to environmental stewardship while also lowering our energy costs.”

The EPA works with organizations to help them save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by making their buildings more energy-efficient, a press release said. [Read more…]

Construction on Y-12 mercury treatment plant could start in 2018, cost $146 million

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Y-12 Process Buildings and Mercury Use Area

Note: This story was last updated at 3:30 p.m.

Construction on a mercury treatment plant at the Y-12 National Security Complex could start in 2018 and cost $146 million, a federal official said Wednesday.

The plant would treat mercury contamination that originates in the West End Mercury Area at Y-12, flows through storm drains, and enters Upper East Fork Poplar Creek at a point known as Outfall 200. East Fork Poplar Creek flows through Oak Ridge.

The U.S. Department of Energy has evaluated several alternatives for treating the mercury, including doing nothing. But DOE prefers an option that would treat 3,000 gallons of contaminated water per minute and store two million gallons of stormwater. It could reduce the flow of mercury, a toxic metal, by an estimated 84 percent. [Read more…]

Five years and $17 million later, city satisfies EPA Clean Water order

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Emory Valley Road Sewer System Holding Tanks

Workers assemble a sewer system holding tank near Emory Valley Road on Wednesday afternoon, April 1, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Five years and $17 million later, Oak Ridge has satisfied a federal administrative order that required the city to repair all sewer system overflows by the end of this month, officials announced Wednesday.

Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said he has received a “closure letter” from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stating the City’s Administrative Order pursuant to the Clean Water Act has been fulfilled, a press release said. The letter, signed by James Giattina, director the Water Protection Division at EPA’s regional office in Atlanta, states that the EPA Region 4 “has determined that the city has satisfied the requirements of the referenced order and hereby closes the order.”

In 2010, the EPA filed an administrative order against the city for excess “Inflow and Infiltration” affecting the wastewater collection lines within the city’s primary service areas. The EPA considered the reported system overflows and piped overflows to be a violation of the Clean Water Act, the press release said. The administrative order contained various program requirements to eliminate the overflows, ensure adequate capacity system wide, and to develop a formal management, operation, and maintenance program, or MOM.

“I am pleased to report that the challenge of the EPA administrative order charged against our city is over!” Watson said. “We have received written confirmation that we have done a substantial job in addressing the findings of the Environmental Protection Agency against Oak Ridge. The order is now closed and we can begin to maintain a consistent and ongoing maintenance effort of this important sewage infrastructure for the community.” [Read more…]

City may need to access residential properties to identify stormwater outfalls

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

By City of Oak Ridge

The City of Oak Ridge may need to access residential property during reasonable hours to identify stormwater outfalls along streams. This is not a request to enter into any building or structures on the property; it is specifically for the purpose of identifying outfalls along streams (or their tributary watercourses) throughout the City of Oak Ridge. Representatives of the City of Oak Ridge will be mapping these outfalls with GPS units and/or making visual assessments of the watercourse, a press release said.

The City of Oak Ridge is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) under the Phase II Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit to monitor certain streams (or tributaries to those streams). The goal of this mandate is to protect and rehabilitate our natural water resources. In accordance with this mandate, the City of Oak Ridge has created a geographical information system (GIS) storm sewer map and database program to identify stormwater outfall locations of the U.S. Waters of the State. To facilitate this program, we must enter onto private property to access the watercourse.

The City of Oak Ridge thanks you for your cooperation in complying with this state and federal mandate, and assisting in making our water resources cleaner for everyone. If you have any questions, please call the City of Oak Ridge Stormwater Management Hotline at (865) 425-3497.

EPA, TVA have final public meeting today on Kingston ash spill cleanup

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Kingston Fossil Plant Ash Spill Cleanup

Ash that spilled into the brown embayment pictured above had been removed by June 2013, and workers placed a black plastic liner over an ash containment cell in the background, preparing to close it late in 2014. The ash spilled in December 2008 when a storage cell failed at the Kingston Fossil Plant, back left. (File photo)

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Tennessee Valley Authority have their final public meeting on the cleanup of the 2008 ash spill in Kingston during a meeting this evening (Thursday, June 4).

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is also participating in the meeting on the Kingston Recovery Project.

The meeting is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 4, in the Roane County High School Auditorium. [Read more…]

Workers building sewer system holding tank near Emory Valley Road

Posted at
By 19 Comments

Emory Valley Road Sewer System Holding Tanks

Workers assemble a sewer system holding tank near Emory Valley Road and Fairbanks Road on Wednesday afternoon.

 

Workers have been assembling a sewer system holding tank near Emory Valley Road and Fairbanks Road. It’s one of three tanks that will help Oak Ridge comply with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency order that requires the city to end all sewer system overflows by September 2015.

The Emory Valley Road tank is on a roughly one-acre tract on the east side of the former Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center. The other two tanks will be built near the intersection of South Illinois Avenue and Scarboro Road, just down the street from the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex, and in an isolated, industrial area off Cairo Road in east Oak Ridge.

The Oak Ridge City Council approved the locations for the three tanks, officially known as equalization basins, in September 2013. The Anderson County Commission agreed to donate a small parcel of land for the Emory Valley Road tank. And the City Council agreed in December 2013 to buy a car wash owned by businessman Terry Mulllins for $125,000 and replace it with the tank at Scarboro Road and South Illinois Avenue as part of a plan to move that equalization basin farther back from the road. [Read more…]

ORAU wins contract worth up to $89 million from EPA

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Associated Universities Building MC-100

The Oak Ridge Associated Universities Building MC-100 is pictured above.

Oak Ridge Associated Universities recently won a five-year contract worth up to $89 million from the Environmental Protection Agency to manage the EPA Environmental Research and Business Support Program, which provides opportunities for exceptional undergraduate and recent bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral graduates to participate in the EPA-sanctioned research and administrative projects.

Through this work, ORAU will recruit and place employees at 13 EPA Office of Research and Development laboratories and research centers across the U.S.  These participants in both business and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields will receive hands-on training in real-world settings at these laboratories and research centers while contributing to EPA’s mission, a press release said. [Read more…]

TVA: Kingston Ash Recovery Project follows new EPA guidelines

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

TVA Kingston Fossil Plant Dike C Reinforcement

Photo courtesy TVA

 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for coal combustion products released on Friday are consistent with work the Tennessee Valley Authority has already done at the Kingston recovery project, the public utility said in a press release.

“TVA is already making substantial changes in the way we work with coal combustion products, including coal ash and gypsum, said TVA President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Johnson. “This included committing an estimated $2 billion to convert all our coal fleet impoundments from wet to dry storage. While recognizing the significant potential for beneficial reuse of ash and other products, we agree it needs to be handled and stored safely.”

The project area surrounding the Kingston Fossil Plant near Harriman is in the final restoration stage following the coal ash spill in December 2008. It was the largest ash spill in U.S. history. [Read more…]

TVA: Kingston Ash Recovery Project nears completion

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

TVA Kingston Fossil Plant Dike C Reinforcement

TVA Kingston Fossil Plant Dike C reinforcement (Photos courtesy TVA)

 

The Tennessee Valley Authority is in the final stages of the Kingston recovery project. The public utility says it’s fulfilling a promise to restore the area surrounding the Kingston Fossil Plant near Harriman following the coal ash spill in December 2008, the largest ash spill in U.S. history.

A major milestone was reached in early December, with the completion of the cover for a 240-acre permanent ash retention landfill. The new landfill, which has been fortified with an underground earthquake-resistant wall anchored in bedrock, is covered by a flexible-membrane liner and geo-composite fabric, two feet of clay, topsoil, and grass.

“We all know this incident shouldn’t have happened,” said TVA President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Johnson, who visited the recovery site on December 17. “But we have learned from it and we are fulfilling our commitment to making it right.”

TVA says it’s also keeping its promise by returning the Emory River and surrounding waterways to pre-spill conditions, reforesting and adding vegetation to surrounding land, stabilizing shorelines, and adding wetlands and other wildlife habitats. TVA has opened Lakeshore Park, which features 32 acres of walking trails, fishing piers, a boat ramp, and docks. [Read more…]