ML18023A333
| ML18023A333 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Clinch River |
| Issue date: | 12/31/2014 |
| From: | Tennessee Valley Authority, Environmental Protection Agency |
| To: | Office of New Reactors |
| Fetter A | |
| References | |
| Download: ML18023A333 (12) | |
Text
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Tennessee Valley Authority Kingston Coal Ash Release Site Project Completion Fact Sheet m Harriman, Roane County, Tennessee December 2014 PROJECT HISTORY On December 22, 2008, at approximately 1:00 a.m., the northwest side of a dike used to contain coal ash failed at the dewatering area of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston Fossil Plant, located at 714 Swan Pond Road in Harriman, Roane County, Tennessee.
After the dike failed, approximately 5.4 million cubic yards (cy) of coal ash was released into Swan Pond Embayment and three adjacent sloughs, eventually spilling into the main Emory River channel. The release extended approximately 300 acres outside of the fly ash dewatering and storage areas of the plant.
The TVA, state and local emergency management agencies first responded to the scene and began to assist residents affected by the coal ash release. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) responded shortly after to monitor the cleanup, provide air and water quality sampling, and help establish a unified command system.
On May 11,2009, TVA entered into an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) with the EPA Region 4 Office, under the regulatory authority of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund), to address the coal ash released to the environment. The Superfund program was selected as the preferred regulatory framework because of its comprehensive human health and ecological risk assessment process and its proven ability to actively engage and involve multiple stakeholders in large, complex environmental cleanup projects. TVA was the lead federal agency to implement the cleanup actions required by the AOC. EPA approved all cleanup actions in consultation with the TDEC.
The recovery project was divided into three distinct phases using time-critical and non-time critical removal action authority to address coal ash that was released into the Emory River.
TVA Kingston Coal Ash Release Site Fact Sheet Harriman, Roane County, Tennessee Phase 1 was an 18-month time-critical removal action that involved mechanical excavation, hy(h"aulic dredging, rapid materials handling, and disposal of 3.5 million cy of ash from the Emory River to alleviate upstream flooding concerns and to mitigate further downstream transport.
Ash removed from the river was dewatered on-site and loaded onto rail cars for disposal at the approved Arrowhead Landfill in Perry County, Alabama. Ash removal under the time-critical phase was completed in May 2010 when the Emory River re-opened for navigation and recreation.
Railroad transportation and off-site ash disposal were completed in December 2010.
EMOfty ftivER CLOSED Emory River closed On-site ash dewatering Loading ash onto rail car Dewatered ash loaded onto rail cars and ready for shipment
Harriman, Roane County, Tennessee TVA Kingston Coal Ash Release Site Fact Sheet Phase 2 was a non-time-critical removal action conducted pursuant to an engineering evaluation/cost analysis (EE/
CA) and a subsequent action memorandum issued in May 2010. Phase 2 involved mechanical excavation of approximately 2.3 million cy of ash in the north and middle Swan Pond Embayments of Watts Bar Reservoir. Recovered ash was dried to optimum moisture content, spread into thin lifts, and compacted on site in a disposal cell of approximately 240 acres.
The disposal cell was re-engineered with a subsurface stabilization slurry wall designed to withstand liquefaction forces caused by a local 6.0 magnitude earthquake on the East Tennessee fault line and a 7.6 magnitude earthquake on the New Madrid fault line. The 4-foot-wide slurry wall was constructed around the perimeter of the disposal cell, extended 50-to-70 feet below ground surface, and was keyed into the underlying shale bedrock 2-to-7 feet.
The whole wall system was up to 100-feet wide. The cell was capped and covered with a 40-mil high density polyethylene liner, a geo-composite drainage layer, 2-feet of clay and topsoil, and a vegetative cover. The majority of Phase 2 work was completed by December 2014.
On-site excavation Construction of the slurry wall Monitoring ash impact on swallow population Phase 3 was also a non-time-critical removal action that involved a comprehensive human health and ecological risk assessment of the estimated 500,000 cy of residual ash that was not removed from the Emory River during the Phase 1 time-critical dredging work or was transported downstream during storm events. Independent medical screening by Oak Ridge Associated Universities concluded that there were no adverse health impacts caused by the coal ash spill. Although the study concluded that the pre-existing fish consumption advisories should remain in effect. The ecological risk assessment evaluated twenty measurement endpoints for coal ash-related impacts including six species of fish, four species of birds, and three species of amphibians, three species of turtles, raccoons, mayflies, snails, and aquatic vegetation. Extensive geochemistry studies, sediment and pore water bioassays.
TVA Kingston Coal Ash Release Site Fact Sheet Harriman, Roane County, Tennessee benthic macroinvertebrate assessments, two-dimensional sediment-ash fate and transport modeling, and groundwater modeling were also conducted.
The Phase 3 action memorandum selected Monitored Natural Recovery (MNR) as the preferred remedy in November 2012. MNR relies on natural processes such 11^ ***
as mixing, scouring and redeposition, and sedimentation (burial) to reduce the relatively low risks posed to benthic macroinvertebrates (bugs) and to birds that prey on bugs.
Monitoring ash impact on macroinvertebrate population EPA and TDEC worked closely with TVA throughout all three phases of the recovery project by providing continuous on-site oversight and support and conducting community outreach efforts. EPA, TDEC along with TVA, participated in many public meetings and established the Community Media briefing Advisory Group (CAG). EPA, TDEC, and TVA, also conducted site tours; worked with the media to keep the community informed; presented at various community organizations and schools; managed a website that provided up-to-date information on site activities; and prepared and mailed fact sheets to community members.
CURRENT PROJECT STATUS After years teamwork and dedication, the recovery project
^
The majority of cleanup work will be "If completed by TVA at the end of 2014.
Miscellaneous housekeeping items will
^ ^^jSljPpjjlpiii^jjl^^
continue into the spring of2015, including
. ~
removal of all haul roads from the middle
'pC
. ^
embayment, construction of a perimeter k
access road around the disposal cell,
^ maintenance of the drainage ditches and y ' >
^
"vegetative cover on the disposal cell, Mid final grading and vegetation of the Swan Pond Recreation Area. Five years of river monitoring indicate that naturally occurring processes continue to be effective in mitigating any potential for adverse ecological effects of residual ash and that the ecosystem has essentially returned to pre-spill conditions. MNR proved to be effective in 5 years versus the lO-to-15-year time frame predicted by sediment fate and transport modeling. Annual monitoring of the river system will continue for up to 30 years to confirm that risks associated with the residual ash remains low and that ash-related concentrations of metals decline with time. Groundwater monitoring and maintenance of the on-site coal ash disposal cell will also be conducted over the long term.
Harriman, Roane County, Tennessee TVA Kingston Coal Ash Release Site Fact Sheet TVA Kingston Ash Recovery Project Metrics Resources Time 6 years Cost
$1,178,000,000 Perimeter Containment Wall Project personnel 900
^dail^^^n-sit^a^£eal^
Total Man Hours 6,700,000 Total length of 4-foot wide slurry trench 69,000 linear feet 13 miles - longest ever constructed in United States Volume of spoils generated More than 500,000 cubic yards (cy) 153 Olympic-sized swimming pools Quality Assurance and Quality Control
- 14,262 samples collected to test for wall strength and stability
- 20 miles of holes drilled through the wall to test for proper mixing of slurry material
TVA Kingston Coal Ash Release Site Fact Sheet Harriman, Roane County, Tennessee Ash Dredging, Excavation and Disposal Volume of ash removed from river system 3,500,000 cy This volume would fill the Empire State Building about 2.5 times; or fill the Khufu Pyramid ("The Great Pyramid")
in Egypt.
Weight of ash transported to Alabama landhll 4,000,000 tons This is as heavy as about 40 aircraft carriers or 27 cruise ships Total number of railcars for ash transport to Alabama landfill 41,000 railcars As a single train, this many ears would stretch from Knoxville to Nashville.
Volume of ash mechanically excavated from embayments 2,300,000 cy This volume would fill the Empire State Building 1.7 times Volume of ash moved from other areas 1,900,000 cy This volume would fill the Empire State Building 1.4 times Sediment samples eolleeted to confirm river system was clean 1,500 Acres of river system cleaned up 255 acres This is almost 2.5 times the size of the LP Field Complex {Tennessee Titans stadium)
Harriman, Roane County, Tennessee TVA Kingston Coal Ash Release Site Fact Sheet Ash Stacking, Cap and Cover Volume of ash stacked and compacted in on-site landfill 4,000,000 cy This volume would fill the Empire State Building three times Length of seams welded together for liner 86 miles Tmekloads of clay and topsoil for landfill cover system 16,500 truekloads Area of on-site landfill 240 acres This is about the size of 56Walmart Superstores Total volume of ash permanently contained in on-site landfill 20,000,000 cy This volume would fill The Great Pyramid six times.
Grass seed sprayed More than 70,000 pounds This amount of seed is just under the maximum weight for an 18-wheeler (80,000 pounds)
TVA Kingston Coal Ash Release Site Fact Sheet Harriman, Roane County, Tennessee Ecological Restoration/Recreation Enhancements Environmental samples eolleeted More than 16,000 Analyses eondueted on those samples About 400,000 Miles of shoreline restored 5 miles Miles of shoreline revegetated 2 miles Trees planted for reforestation of shoreline 7,000 trees Miles of walking trails created 3.5 miles Fishing piers, eanoe and kayak launches, and boat ramps created 4 fishing piers, 2 eanoe launches, and 1 boat dock and ramp Wetlands and native vegetation created/restored More than 70 acres This is about 14 Tennessee State Capitol buildings 8
Harriman, Roane County, Tennessee TVA Kingston Coal Ash Release Site Fact Sheet Community Outreach Amount of surplus material donated to Roane County About $500,000 Total number of hits on TVA/EPA projeet websites 184,000 Public meetings, availability sessions, and workshops sponsored More than 50 Funds provided by TVA to support economic development initiatives
$43,000,000 Independent medical screenings conducted 214 Projeet updates provided by public notices and e-mails More than 400 Site tours conducted More than 100
TVA Kingston Coal Ash Release Site Fact Sheet Harriman, Roane County, Tennessee Check out these before and after shots North Embayment then North Embayment now East Embayment then East Embayment now Swan Pond Circle then Swan Pond Circle now 10
Harriman, Roane County, Tennessee TVA Kingston Coal Ash Release Site Fact Sheet Middle Embayment then Middle Embayment now Aerial Photo-December 28,2008 Aerial Photo-November 7, 2014 Watch for More Information A public meeting to conclude the project will be held in the spring 2015.
11
TVA Kingston Fly Ash Release Site Fact Sheet Harriman, Roane County, Tennessee INFORMATION SOURCES TVA Kingston Cleanup Website: www,tv(Lgov/kingston EPA Kingston Cleanup Website: www,epakingstontv(Lcom TVA and EPA Team Contacts Kingston Recovery Project General Manager Carol E. Elmers 865-717-1629 ceimers@tva.gov EPA Remedial Project Manager Craig Zeller 404-562-8827 Zeller.Craig@epa.gov Information Repositories View the administrative record at one of the information repositories:
Kingston Public Library U.S. EPA Region 4 1004 Bradford Way Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center Kingston, TN 37763 61 Forsyth Street, SW Atlanta, GA 30303 Harriman Public Library 601 Walden Street Harriman, TN 37748 (865) 882-3195 oERA United States Environinental Protection Agency U.S. EPA Region 4 Attn: Stephanie Y. Brown 61 Forsyth Street, SW Atlanta. GA 30303-8960 RETURN ADDRESS REQUESTED FIRST CLASS