River Reaches—Updated Data Analysis and Temporal Trend Evaluations in Biota: 2009-2015, Tennessee Valley Authority, Kingston, Tennessee (By Arcadis)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Atlanta reported Thursday that monitoring data shows that areas of Watts Bar Reservoir affected by the 2008 ash spill in Kingston have returned to “pre-spill” conditions.
The ash spill occurred at the Tennessee Valley Authority Kingston Fossil Plant. It released 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash on December 22, 2008.
Environmental data collected from 2009-2015 shows the fish community, benthic macroinvertebrates (bugs), sediment quality, and tree swallow colonies have recovered to baseline conditions that existed before the spill, the EPA said.
The cleanup was accomplished in three phases under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or CERCLA, commonly known as Superfund. [Read more…]
