Oak Ridge Today

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.

[Read more…]

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

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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…]

Public availability session on proposed DOE landfill is Thursday

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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…]

Household Hazardous Waste Collection event set for Sept. 16

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Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event 2017 flyer

Anderson County Solid Waste Management and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation are sponsoring a Household Hazardous Waste Collection event on Saturday, September 16.

The collection is scheduled between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Central Services Complex located at 100 Woodbury Lane (behind the Hobby Lobby shopping center). This is a state-sponsored household hazardous waste event and is open to all residents of Tennessee, a press release said.

Household hazardous waste is considered anything that is generated in the household that has a hazardous property. Examples include household disinfectants, drain cleaners, adhesives, pesticides, old gasoline, and pool chemicals. A material is considered hazardous if it is flammable, corrosive, toxic, or reactive with heat or contact with metals, the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge receives $2 million wastewater loan

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The City of Oak Ridge has received a $2 million state wastewater loan, officials said Friday.

The loan is for the city’s Infiltration and Inflow Correction project. It will be used to rehabilitate approximately 30,000 linear feet of sewer line, a state press release said. The project will be funded with a 20-year, $1,860,000 loan with an interest rate of 1.89 percent and $140,000 in principal forgiveness that will not have to be repaid, Tennessee officials said.

The loan was announced Friday by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Bob Martineau. They said that three communities have been approved to receive more than $9.3 million in low-interest loans for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements.

“The State Revolving Fund Loan Program helps citizens enjoy a better quality of life by assisting communities with current and future infrastructure needs for improved environmental health,” Haslam said.

Tennessee’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program has awarded more than $1.7 billion in low-interest loans since its inception in 1987, the press release said. Tennessee’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program has awarded more than $296.2 million in low-interest loans since its inception in 1996. [Read more…]

GIS stormwater data collection to occur in February

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Photo by City of Oak Ridge

Photo by City of Oak Ridge

 

Geographical information system, or GIS, storm drain inlet mapping will take place in Oak Ridge during the month of February in the following areas: Michigan Avenue, Outer Drive, and New York Avenue.

Representatives of the city will be mapping these inlets with GPS units and/or making visual assessments, a press release said. Residential property will only be accessed during reasonable hours to identify stormwater inlets, the press release said.

“This is not a request to enter into any building or structures on the property,” the press release said. “No construction will be taking place.”

The city is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, or 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, the press release said. [Read more…]

Watts Bar Reservoir has returned to conditions before Kingston coal ash spill, EPA says

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River Reaches Arcadis Updated Data Analysis and Temporal Trend Evaluations in Biota 2009-2015 TVA Kingston

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…]

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

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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…]

Oliver Springs receives $100,000 ballfield grant; Norris Dam park, Farragut also receive funding

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Oliver Springs has received a $100,000 state grant for development of the Carmichael Ballfield, officials said Monday. It’s a Local Parks and Recreation grant.

Farragut received a $500,000 Parks and Recreation grant for renovation of an athletic field, restroom, and construction of parking.

And Norris Dam State Park received an $84,000 Recreational Trails Program grant. It will be used to buy trail cutting equipment for building and maintaining hiking and biking trails, and trail-dedicated hand tools; develop three new trails that will link existing trails to increase trail capacity and link users to the campgrounds; and repair existing trails and train new volunteers.

The grants were announced by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Bob Martineau on Monday. They are worth more than $17 million total, and they will help fund parks and recreation projects in Tennessee communities, a press release said. [Read more…]

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

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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…]

City may need to access residential properties to identify stormwater outfalls

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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.

City conducting inventory of stormwater system

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The Oak Ridge Public Works Department is conducting an inventory of the city stormwater system.

It’s a requirement of the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, or MS4, program, and mandated by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, or TDEC. The survey requires documenting all facets of the stormwater system, including, but not limited to streams, ditches, pipe inlets and outlets, and catch basins and detention basins, a press release said. The survey may take several years to complete. [Read more…]