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

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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…]

TVA: Kingston Ash Recovery Project follows new EPA guidelines

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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

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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…]

TVA to pay $27.8 million to settle ash spill lawsuits

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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. The ash spilled in December 2008 when a storage cell failed at the Kingston Fossil Plant, back left.

 

KNOXVILLE—The Tennessee Valley Authority announced Friday that it will pay $27.8 million to settle dozens of lawsuits filed by hundreds of plaintiffs after the largest ash spill in U.S. history.

The 63 lawsuits that had been pending in U.S. District Court in Knoxville involved more than 850 plaintiffs. They had asserted claims against TVA arising from the 2008 ash spill at Kingston Fossil Plant. The lawsuits will be dismissed, bringing the legal battle to an end after more than five years.

The settlement, known as a mediated global resolution, was outlined in documents submitted Friday to the U.S. District Court in Knoxville, a press release said. It comes after nearly two years of mediation ordered by U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan. The judge must still approve it.

The mediated global resolution has been approved by the TVA board of directors. TVA will pay the $27.8 million to the court clerk to be disbursed to the plaintiffs’ attorneys as ordered by the court, the release said. [Read more…]

TVA finishes excavating spilled coal ash at Kingston plant, starts covering disposal area

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Kingston Fossil Plant Ash Spill Cleanup

Ash that spilled into the brown embayment pictured above has been removed, and workers are placing a black liner over an ash containment cell, pictured at center, preparing to close it late next year. More than 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash spilled in December 2008 when a storage cell used by the Kingston Fossil Plant, back left, failed.

KINGSTON—It was the largest ash spill in U.S. history. A dike failed on a storage cell on a cold December night more than four years ago, and roughly 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash surged out, covering about 300 acres of land and water near the Kingston Fossil Plant.

No one was injured, but 40 homes in the area were affected. The ash filled three embayments north of the coal-fired plant, covered Swan Pond Road, and flowed into the Emory River. Three homes became uninhabitable because of structural damage.

The work to clean up the gray sludge, which had been four to six feet deep, has been under way since the Dec. 22, 2008, spill. On Friday, officials paused to celebrate two milestones in the six-year, $1.2 billion project. [Read more…]