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Air quality alert in effect until midnight Saturday

Posted at 3:56 pm July 31, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Haze from wildfires in western states and Canada obscures the Cumberland Mountains north of Oak Ridge in this view from Pine Ridge last week, on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

An air quality alert is in effect until midnight as smoke from wildfires in western states and Canada continues to blow through the region. The smoke also affected air quality in the region last week.

On Friday, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation issued a code orange air quality alert for fine particulate matter, including in the Knoxville metropolitan area. The air quality alert includes Anderson County. It went into effect at midnight Friday and continues until midnight Saturday.

The orange alert means the air is unhealthy for people in sensitive groups, according to AirNow.gov. This includes people with heart or lung disease, older adults, children, and teenagers. They should choose less strenuous activities, like walking instead of running, so they don’t breathe as hard. They should also shorten the amount of time they are active outdoors, and postpone outdoor activities if possible to when the air quality is better. Everyone else can enjoy outdoor activities, AirNow.gov said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Slider, Weather, Weather Tagged With: air quality, air quality alert, AirNow.gov, Anderson County, code orange air quality alert, Haze, National Weather Service, Oak Ridge, PM2.5, TDEC, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, wildfires

For members: Big change for Y-12 water permit is Mercury Treatment Facility

Posted at 10:18 am July 12, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The planned Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy UCOR/U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

 

The biggest change for a water discharge permit drafted for the Y-12 National Security Complex is the construction and operation of a Mercury Treatment Facility, a state official said Tuesday.

The mercury treatment facility, which is under construction and could begin operating next year, is expected to capture and treat most of the mercury released as old, unused mercury-contaminated buildings, equipment, and soils are demolished and removed, especially on the west side of the nuclear weapons production site.

Millions of pounds of mercury were used at Y-12 in the 1950s and early 1960s to produce nuclear weapons parts. Roughly 60,000 pounds is estimated to remain in buildings and equipment, and an unknown amount was released into soils and sediments. About 1.3 million pounds is unaccounted for. Mercury is a top pollutant of concern on the federal Oak Ridge Reservation.

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The planned Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy UCOR/U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

 

The biggest change for a water discharge permit drafted for the Y-12 National Security Complex is the construction and operation of a Mercury Treatment Facility, a state official said Tuesday.

The mercury treatment facility, which is under construction and could begin operating next year, is expected to capture and treat most of the mercury released as old, unused mercury-contaminated buildings, equipment, and soils are demolished and removed, especially on the west side of the nuclear weapons production site.

Millions of pounds of mercury were used at Y-12 in the 1950s and early 1960s to produce nuclear weapons parts. Roughly 60,000 pounds is estimated to remain in buildings and equipment, and an unknown amount was released into soils and sediments. About 1.3 million pounds is unaccounted for. Mercury is a top pollutant of concern on the federal Oak Ridge Reservation.

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Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Premium Content, State, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Clean Water Act, Mercury Treatment Facility, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Outfall 200, TDEC, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Vojin Janjić, water discharge permit, Water Quality Control Act, Y-12 National Security Complex

For members: More than 4,000 fish, crayfish killed by Y-12 chlorinated water, mercury

Posted at 2:35 pm July 6, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Upper East Fork Poplar Creek is pictured above at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge on Friday, May 22, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

More than 4,000 fish and crayfish were killed by chlorinated water and mercury at the Y-12 National Security Complex in two series of incidents in 2018 and 2021.

The rest of this story, which you will read only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

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Upper East Fork Poplar Creek is pictured above at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge on Friday, May 22, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

More than 4,000 fish and crayfish were killed by chlorinated water and mercury at the Y-12 National Security Complex in two series of incidents in 2018 and 2021.

The rest of this story, which you will read only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

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Upper East Fork Poplar Creek is pictured above at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge on Friday, May 22, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

More than 4,000 fish and crayfish were killed by chlorinated water and mercury at the Y-12 National Security Complex in two series of incidents in 2018 and 2021.

The rest of this story, which you will read only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

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Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, National Nuclear Security Administration, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Premium Content, Slider, State, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Alpha-4, Amy Fitzgerald, Aquatic Ecology Group, chlorinated water, City of Oak Ridge, CNS, COLEX, column exchange, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, crayfish, Division of Water Resources, DOE, draft permit, East Fork Poplar Creek, EPA, Eugene Sievers, fish, Jennifer Dodd, Kathryn King, Lamar Alexander, Mark Watson, mercury, Mercury Treatment Facility, Michael Atchley, National Nuclear Security Administration, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, NNSA, notice of violation, NPDES, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, OREM, ORNL, Outfall 200, Patrick Berge, public hearing, Susan Morris, TDEC, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, UCOR, violation notice, Warren Gooch, water discharge permit, Y-12 National Security Complex

For members: Millions of gallons in sewer system overflows reported in four-year period

Posted at 9:46 pm June 3, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

An Oak Ridge wastewater overflow tank is pictured above on Emory Valley Road on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 3:20 p.m. June 6.

Millions of gallons in sewer system overflows were reported to the state by the City of Oak Ridge between 2012 and 2017, and most of the largest overflows—500,000 gallons or more—were reported in the summer of 2013, according to a federal lawsuit that could be settled soon.

The lawsuit by Tennessee Riverkeeper, a nonprofit organization based in Alabama, was filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville in 2018. It alleged that the city had reported about 40 million gallons of sewer system overflows in a four-year period near local waters and that the city had violated the Clean Water Act. The city denied the claim. The lawsuit had sought to force the city to make repairs to keep pollutants out of creeks and rivers, and to charge the city $37,500 per violation per day. It also asked the city to pay reasonable attorney’s fees and expert fees. Riverkeeper said the discharges have affected how often its members use the Tennessee River and its tributaries for recreation. The discharges continued through at least early 2017, with more overflows reported later, according to the lawsuit and legal documents filed in the case.

Now, the lawsuit could be settled if the court approves and Oak Ridge makes at least $4 million in repairs by 2025 and pays more than $100,000 in attorneys’ fees. The settlement agreement was approved by City Council in May. A notice about the agreement was filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Thursday.

The largest overflows, by volume, were reported about two years before the city completed millions of dollars worth of repairs to its aging sewer system and built three large wastewater holding tanks after an order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2010. The EPA order had required the city to bring itself into compliance with its discharge permit. However, the overflows continued even after the city said it had satisfied the conditions of the EPA order, according to the lawsuit, although the overflows appeared to be at a lower volume than in the summer of 2013.

Legal arguments in the case have included debate over whether Tennessee Riverkeeper has standing—someone who had been injured by the sewer system overflows—and whether the discharges have continued.

The rest of this story, which you will read only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

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An Oak Ridge wastewater overflow tank is pictured above on Emory Valley Road on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 3:20 p.m. June 6.

Millions of gallons in sewer system overflows were reported to the state by the City of Oak Ridge between 2012 and 2017, and most of the largest overflows—500,000 gallons or more—were reported in the summer of 2013, according to a federal lawsuit that could be settled soon.

The lawsuit by Tennessee Riverkeeper, a nonprofit organization based in Alabama, was filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville in 2018. It alleged that the city had reported about 40 million gallons of sewer system overflows in a four-year period near local waters and that the city had violated the Clean Water Act. The city denied the claim. The lawsuit had sought to force the city to make repairs to keep pollutants out of creeks and rivers, and to charge the city $37,500 per violation per day. It also asked the city to pay reasonable attorney’s fees and expert fees. Riverkeeper said the discharges have affected how often its members use the Tennessee River and its tributaries for recreation. The discharges continued through at least early 2017, with more overflows reported later, according to the lawsuit and legal documents filed in the case.

Now, the lawsuit could be settled if the court approves and Oak Ridge makes at least $4 million in repairs by 2025 and pays more than $100,000 in attorneys’ fees. The settlement agreement was approved by City Council in May. A notice about the agreement was filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Thursday.

The largest overflows, by volume, were reported about two years before the city completed millions of dollars worth of repairs to its aging sewer system and built three large wastewater holding tanks after an order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2010. The EPA order had required the city to bring itself into compliance with its discharge permit. However, the overflows continued even after the city said it had satisfied the conditions of the EPA order, according to the lawsuit, although the overflows appeared to be at a lower volume than in the summer of 2013.

Legal arguments in the case have included debate over whether Tennessee Riverkeeper has standing—someone who had been injured by the sewer system overflows—and whether the discharges have continued.

The rest of this story, which you will read only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

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Filed Under: Courts, Courts, Federal, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Premium Content, Slider, State, United States Tagged With: City of Oak Ridge, Clean Water Act, East Fork Poplar Creek, EPA, EPA order, lawsuit, settlement agreement, sewer system, sewer system overflows, TDEC, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Riverkeeper, U.S. District Court, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Wade McCurdy, wastewater treatment plant

State announces $500,000 loan for OS water system repairs

Posted at 10:01 am October 27, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Tennessee officials on Friday announced a $500,000 loan for water system repairs in Oliver Springs.

The loan was announced by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner David Salyers. It’s a Clean Water State Revolving Fund, or SRF, planning and design loan. It’s meant to remediate water losses in the Oliver Springs water system in what is being described as a pilot project.

The loan consists of 100 percent principal forgiveness in the amount of $500,000 with a five-year term and a 0 percent interest rate, a press release said.

“We are pleased we can assist local communities with important infrastructure improvements,” Lee said in the press release. “This loan directly addresses a need and will improve quality of life.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oliver Springs, State, Top Stories Tagged With: Bill Lee, Clean Water State Revolving Fund, David Salyers, Leslie Gillespie-Marthaler, Oliver Springs, Randy McNally, SRF, State Revolving Fund, TDEC, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, water system repairs

TVA says Claxton material that caused concern is consistent with soil

Posted at 3:31 pm October 17, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government Tagged With: Bull Run Fossil Plant, Claxton, coal ash, soil, TDEC, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Valley Authority, Tracy Wandell, TVA

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

Posted at 1:26 pm October 17, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, State Tagged With: Bull Run Fossil Plant, Claxton, coal ash, TDEC, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tracy Wandell, TVA, WYSH Radio

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

Posted at 10:54 am May 29, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Federal, Front Page News, Government, Government, Slider, State Tagged With: Anderson County Commission, Bull Run Fossil Plant, Catherine Denenberg, coal-burning power plant, Intergovernmental Committee, TDEC, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA

TDEC announces $3.2 million drinking water loan for Oak Ridge

Posted at 2:10 pm May 15, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Low-interest loan will go toward new water treatment plant 

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner David Salyers on Monday announced approximately $3.2 million in a low-interest loan for drinking water infrastructure improvements for the City of Oak Ridge.

“This loan will help Oak Ridge to meet one of the vital needs of its citizens,” Lee said in a press release. “I am pleased to support infrastructure upgrades that will help to provide safe and reliable drinking water for more Tennesseans.”

The City of Oak Ridge will receive a planning and design loan in the amount of $3,288,000 to develop plans and specifications for construction of a new 16-million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant, the press release said. The effort is funded from the State Revolving Fund Loan Program with a five-year repayment period and an interest rate of 1.08 percent.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, State Tagged With: Bill Lee, City of Oak Ridge, Clean Water State Revolving Fund, David Salyers, drinking water infrastruture, drinking water loan, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, State Revolving Fund Loan, TDEC, Tennessee, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Local Development Authority, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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

Posted at 6:25 pm April 22, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

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.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Government, Slider Tagged With: ash impoundment, Bull Run Fossil Plant, coal ash, coal ash storage, process water, TDEC, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA

Federal shutdown does not affect state oversight of Oak Ridge cleanup program

Posted at 11:16 am January 18, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The partial shutdown of the federal government does not affect state oversight of the federal cleanup program in Oak Ridge, a state official said Thursday.

At this time, the federal shutdown has no impact on the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, said Kim Schofinski, TDEC deputy communications director. That means state oversight of the Oak Ridge cleanup program is not currently affected. The Oak Ridge sites include East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Y-12 National Security Complex. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: DOE, EPA, federal cleanup program, federal government, federal shutdown, Kim Schofinski, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, partial government shutdown, partial shutdown, state oversight, TDEC, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Public availability session on proposed DOE landfill is Thursday

Posted at 2:18 pm October 8, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

There is a public availability session on the proposed federal landfill in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a proposed plan to build a new landfill on the Oak Ridge Reservation. The landfill, the Environmental Management Disposal Facility, would be in Bear Creek Valley west of the Y-12 National Security Complex. It is intended for disposal of radioactive, hazardous, and toxic wastes. It would be used as cleanup work ends at the East Tennessee Technology Park and the existing landfill, the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility fills up, and cleanup work moves to Y-12 and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

A press release said the Sierra Club has invited state and federal officials from DOE, Environmental Protection Agency, and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to be available for public questions about the Environmental Management Disposal Facility. The public availability session has been scheduled from 2 to 8 p.m. Thursday, October 11, at the TDEC office at 761 Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, State, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Brad Stephenson, cleanup work, DOE, DOE landfill, East Tennessee Technology Park, Environmental Management Disposal Facility, Environmental Management Waste Management Facility, Environmental Protection Agency, federal landfill, John LeCroy, John Michael Japp, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Oak Ridge Reservation, public availability session, Sierra Club, TDEC, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex

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