TVA Kingston TN December 23, 2008

This is a reprint of part of my initial blog post regarding the TVA disaster in December 2008.

To make sure no one forgets the truth of what happened.

 Partnerships Contact Us 12/26/2008 3:08 PM TVA Ups Fly Ash Spill Estimate Date Published: Friday, December 26th, 2008 The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) now says that 5.4 million cubic yards of potentially toxic fly ash was released from a retention pond at its Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane County, TN when a dam burst there early Monday morning. 

According to the Knoxville News, that’s triple the estimate of 1.7 million cubic yards the TVA released earlier this week. The TVA said it could take months, if not years, to clean up the Tennessee fly ash spill. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was supervising the cleanup, and was also trying to determine if the area engulfed by the fly ash should be deemed a Superfund site. 

The Tennessee fly ash spill occurred around 1:00 a.m. after a wall holding back 80 acres of sludge from the TVA coal plant in central Tennessee broke. Though the exact cause of the accident was not known, it was thought that six inches of rain over the previous 10 days and overnight temperatures in the teens contributed to the dam breach. 

The TVA said that up to 400 acres of land had been coated by the sludge, making it 48 times larger than the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska. 

The fly ash spill damaged 15 homes. All the residents were evacuated, but at least three homes were deemed uninhabitable. The spill also clogged the nearby Emory River, which provides drinking water for millions of people living downstream. 

In the days after the spill, hundreds of fish were seen floating dead downstream from the plant The environmental scope of the disaster is still not known. 

Fly ash is one of the waste products generated when coal is burned.

Studies have shown that fly ash contains significant quantities of heavy metals like arsenic, lead and selenium, which can cause cancer and neurological problems. According to The New York Times, a 2006 study by the National Research Council found that coal-burning byproducts such as fly ash contain these toxins in amounts large enough to “pose public health and environmental concerns if improperly managed.” The study said “risks to human health and ecosystems” might occur when these contaminants entered drinking water supplies or surface water bodies. 
, The TVA said its initial water quality tests showed no threat to drinking water. 

However, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has yet to complete its own water testing. 

At least one environmental group, Greenpeace, is calling for a criminal investigation into the TVA fly ash spill. “Every facility like this is supposed to have a spill contingency plan to prevent this kind of disaster,” Rick Hind, Greenpeace Legislative Director said in a press release. 

“The authorities need to get to the bottom of what went wrong and hold the responsible parties accountable.” Similar spills have resulted in felony charges, the release noted. Apparently, the fly ash pond at the TVA Kingston plant had a history of safety problems. In the days following the spill, the TVA released inspection reports showing there had been two other breaches of the same fly ash pond during the previous six years. A report in The Tennessean also said the plant’s neighbors had reported previous “baby blowouts” that caused less severe contamination. This entry was posted on Friday, December 26th, 2008 at 7:51 am and is filed under Legal News, Health Concerns, Toxic Substances, Accident.


Specific driving/walking/boating directions (from nearest intersection, main road, waterway or supply navigational coordinates, if necessary): (4000 characters maximum, text will wrap automatically) Emory River,

SEPTEMBER 16TH IS PUBLIC HEARING ON COAL ASH - 3 DAYS NOTICE!

Nanotechnology: Consequences for Human Health & the Environment (Issues in Environmental Science and Technology)Critical Condition: Human Health and the Environment"News Release by Date: Media Advisory: 'EPA Announces Public Hearing in Chicago Sept. 16 on Proposed Coal Ash Regulations'"
(link) 3 Days Notice of Public Hearing on Coal Ash! Hurry!


NEWS RELEASE DATE 9-13-2010 FOR A 9-16-2010 PUBLIC HEARING....


Media contact Karen Thompson thompson.karen@epa.gov 312-353-8547


CHICAGO – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is holding a public hearing on EPA’s proposal to regulate the disposal and management of coal ash from coal-fired power plants. 


"This is the first time the EPA has proposed to ensure the safe disposal and management of this material". Why has the EPA not been regulating the disposal of coal ash/pot ash/fly ash?


 Does this mean the EPA is now going into business with the Coal Plants? From what I understood, the EPA has found conclusively that there is no such thing as Clean Coal, and that the operation of Coal-Fire Plants is not only hazardous to Human Health, but The ENVIRONMENT!!!!!

TIME: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

DATE: Thursday, Sept. 16

PLACE: Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan Ave.

The hearing will continue past 9 p.m. if necessary. Walk-ins and written comments will be accepted at the hearing. The agency will consider the public’s comments in its final decision. 

Background: The need for national management criteria and regulation was emphasized by the December 2008 spill of coal ash from a surface impoundment near Kingston, Tenn. The proposal will ensure for the first time that protective controls, such as liners and ground water monitoring, are in place at new landfills to protect ground water and human health. Existing surface impoundments will also require liners, with strong incentives to close these impoundments and transition to safer landfills which store coal ash in dry form. The proposed regulations will ensure stronger oversight of the structural integrity of impoundments and promote environmentally safe and desirable forms of recycling coal ash, known as beneficial uses. 

EPA has proposed two main management approaches, one of which phases out surface impoundments and moves all coal ash to landfills; the other allows coal ash to be disposed in surface impoundments, but with stricter safety criteria.

This is already the EPA's job, to regulate the storage and disposal of Coal Ash. These "impoundments" should already have liners, as should the disposal from every other Energy Mining, Drilling, and Fracking operation. 


It is really becoming Lulu world -   

"...impoundments and promote environmentally safe and desirable forms of recycling coal ash, known as beneficial uses..." ??????????

Thank you Pew Project, Thank you Homeland Security, and Thank you EERE. I think you have finally taken the U.S. Constitution and sent it into the last Smoke Stack. This is not Kosher, This is not any good for the Citizens of the U.S. - The poor citizens who will never have Environmental Justice, because it is the poverty stricken towns and Reservations that get these "impoundments, mining, drilling ponds - With the Promise of Jobs and security - This is Dirty and stinks. 

I think it is too late for Citizens to Make a Difference. I think the Deed is already done. A Three Day notice to come to Chicago, and Come to the Hilton...Citizens cannot afford to pull that off, but by God Industry sure Can!

for more information on the EPA proposals...
 (link) More Information on What the EPA is Proposing@

                         **********************************

Determination of aquifer characteristics in spoil generated by mountain top removal, valley-fill coal-mining process


Coal ash utilization: Fly ash, bottom ash, and slag (Pollution technology review)


Coal Power: Coal-Fired Power Stations, Coal Power by Country, Coal Power Companies, Coal in Australia, Fly Ash, Coal Power in China


Determination of the potential for release of mercury from combustion product amended soils: part 2--coal fly ash generated stabilized soil and degradation ... of the Air & Waste Management Association


Influence of several experimental parameters on As and Se leaching from coal fly ash samples [An article from: Analytica Chimica Acta]


Short-term responses of two contrasting species of earthworms in an agricultural soil amended with coal fly-ash [An article from: Soil Biology and Biochemistry]


2008 Disasters in the United States: 2008 Chatsworth Train Collision, Kingston Fossil Plant Coal Fly Ash Slurry Spill


Dam Disasters: Kingston Fossil Plant Coal Fly Ash Slurry Spill, Johnstown Flood, St. Francis Dam, Vajont Dam




Treatment of acid mine drainage with coal fly ash: Interaction chemistry and process water qualityCoal: Coal, Coke, Coal Tar, Bituminous Coal, Peat, Lignite, United Mine Workers, Fossil Fuel Phase Out, Environmental Effects of Coal, Fly Ash

Human Health and the Environment: A Turn-of-the-Century Perspective

Approved Cleanup Plan for TVA Coal Ash Site, by E.P.A.

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/106C22E4BC722561852577270062C9DE

"News Releases by Date: EPA Approves Cleanup Plan for Remaining Coal Ash at TVA Kingston Site." Release Date 05/18/2010. Contact Davina Marraccini @ (404) 562-8293, marraccini.davin@epa.gov

On May 18, 2010 the EPA approved the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) selected cleanup plan for the next phase of ash removal at the TVA Kingston site in Roane County, TN.

The outline of the plan are as follows:

I. Removal of "stock-piled" On-Site Storage. There is remaining approximately 2.5 million cubic yards of ash being stored. No ash will be removed from the area - their idea of safety being not having any accidents during transportation... [that is all well and good, but the horrible breech of the retaining ponds stored on site have been the most hazardous to date.]

II. Building Protective Perimeter Dike: The newly engineered [PLAN] is to excavate down 60 - 70 feet, to the shale bedrock, and will consist of overlapping soil-cement columns that can withstand a 6.0 earthquake. [That is an extreme depth to compromise. Not only are mountains, and streams being demolished to provide a small amount of electricity, now the underground and parts of the Earth's crust is going to be compromised with pollutants.]

III. Closure and Capping at 25' in the Air: [65+25=90 cubic feet x ??? yards = a lot of waste].

IV. Restoration: Testing will be required: Testing has always been required.

The time for Public Comment has not ended. If you would like more stringent rules for TVA, this is the time to let your voice be heard.

www.kingstoncomm@tva.com or in writing TVA, PO Box 40, Kingston, TN 37763-0400

In December of 2008, The Kingston TVA site had a spill that at that time was called a worse environmental disaster than the Exxon Valdez, in the shear quanity of waste that was visited upon an entire community and our Earth.

www.epakinstontva.com/default.aspx

The devistation that is being visited upon our environment by Mountaintop Mining, and the practice of killing streams and waterways in the Appalachian Mountains is unwise.

The Gulf Coast of Louisiana is downstream from Tennessee. The Gulf Coast is a part of our Earth's eco-system, that was like a huge filter for clean water and air. That giant filter has been compromised.

Fellow Earthlings; we must stop raping the Earth for energy. Coal Fire plants provide a small amount of electricity for the costs financially and environmentally. As usual there are a handful of people who reap the benefits, while the poor taxpayer always picks up the bill.

Wake up, please...We must look up for energy, and stop 'wanting' so much...

Thank you. Peace

Appalachian Blues

Dear Citizens of the World,                                                                                  April 2, 2010


Today my blog is going to be an appeal... "...during my 50 years on this planet, I have seen jungles, forests, centuries old stands of trees disappear."


While creating a presentation for my Speech class in University, it occurred to me that I have been here while entire Peoples have been wiped out.


I had only thought of habitat and species in terms of; them! Those Ivory Billed Woodpeckers, that African Jungle system, that beautiful stand of trees that may not exist in many places.That Ocean, that Coral Reef... It is serious folks. If other People cease to matter, cease to exist, consider it will not be long before most of us follow.


The rich, lush, gorgeous biodiversity of the Appalachians enriched the whole earth at one time. Mountain people are rare, because Mountains are viewed by very few with Dollar signs in their eyes and that is all that matters.


Mountaintop Removal is like 10 million amputations on one body. This announcement by the EPA today* has moved me to beg, on my knees for people to care that another civilization is about to be wiped out.


Natural resources that will be taken for the Coal-fire energy industry to make a godawful profit. The make a little electricity for the amount of material harvested. Jobs are not lasting or many. At the end there is the giant mess for all citizens to live with, or clean up. Energy production does not have to be this costly.


The lightening fast removal of formations (mountains are created by movements of the earth's plates) that took at least 2500 Million years to form is like poking a mountain size giant in the eye with a stick. 


The Appalachians and the Ouachita Mountain Range are close in Age. Peoples settled in these mountainous areas hundreds of years ago. The Appalachian People are of this mountain range. They are of an ancient society that took and gave, but loved their mountains.


 Modern society would disregard the gifts and mystical tones we have gotten from this melding of Geology, Geography and tradition in the Appalachians, but it is invaluable. 


Mountaintop removal is a raping of a land, and the destruction of a society. It is a filthy way to provide power. The by-products of the Coal powered energy, that is ripped from these majestic formations are toxic, plentiful and using more good land for stockpiling. This is not wise. It must stop.


Have the Appalachian Peoples gained more in financial incentives to their ultimate destruction? We had a lot of Ozark Peoples displaced by the encroachment of 'civilization' to the mountains. Hillbillies are fun to poke fun at, but they are more than the public gives them credit for. Them mostly live green (except for the washing machines piled up in the yard- lol). Those people; "those hillbillies" weren't exterminated, but their way of life was. They knew how to take from the Earth to live, but they also knew they must give back.


Every culture that is destroyed when their habitat is destroyed should raise alarms aplenty, but there is little notice. The other example that will never leave my heart is what happened to the American Natives and all of their habitats during the last 200+ years. The Native Peoples respected the Earth and all of Earth's resources. They took, but respectfully gave back.


What destroyed the Native People was, what some will call "progress". And of course, greed. We have warned time and again, we are harming the Earth to our own destruction. It is true. No one wants to believe that or really consider it, but we must stop unwise landuse practices from today on.


*Please have your voice heard. Today's Announcement by the EPA: "News Releases By Date: EPA Issues Comprehensive Guidance to Protect Appalachian Communities From Harmful Environmental Impacts of Mountaintop Mining". Contact EPA Press Office, press@epa.gov


Usually, there is a contact given...


Instead here is a link to young activists who are making a difference...
http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2010/03/18/lisa-jackson%E2%80%99s-reaction-to-mountaintop-removal-activist-lock-down-at-epa/


Here is the link to EPA's recent information on steps to regulate Mountaintop Removal http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/guidance/mining.html#memo20100401


Thank You for everything you do! Thank you for random kindness. Thank you for healing the people and land.

Earlier reports from AEP - Sporn facility

From announcement: Coal Ash Survey Results: http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/surveys/

Specifically - Philip Sporn facility
http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/surveys/survey-sporn.pdf

Close to a year after the December 2008 breach at the TVA Plant in Roane County, TN., the EPA is using wisdom in prevention of another such disaster.
[ A containment pond, holding waste from the Coal-fired plant was compromised and the environmental devastation and impact on human life is beyond words. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/dec/22/officials-dike-burst-floods-homes-near-tva-plant/
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/dec/23/link-roundup-tva-disaster-roane-county-getting-wid/ ]

After reading the survey I am quite concerned. This is no reflection on the power companies, this is on those who are supposed to be regulating facilities who pollute.

• Question I ~ kind of gets everyone out of regulatory issues by declaring the ponds not a hazard. (by the Div. of Water & Waste Mngmt)
• These were designed by a West Virginian P.E. in 1996. Since 1997, liners that are regulated on landfill cells have been upgraded, it isn't the same, but that is a long time ago in engineering.
• There are no real inspections, and it is interesting how they term problems as erosion and slippage. No spills. There shows to have been some type of upgrade in 2002...we have learned a lot about toxins and hazards since then.
• Last regulatory inspection was 3/09, and there is no report available.
• April 06, 2005 is the last inspection available.
• The "Bottom Ash Pond" {max hgt 42'} is able to contain 265 acres, and the "Fly Ash Pond" can hold 1,965 acres that is holding at a maximum height of 65 feet.
• The report states that all Fly Ash is taken to a dry landfill. From what several states have ruled, that is not the best disposal method for Fly Ash.

As the old saying goes; "...an ounce of prevention is worth tons [sp] of cure.."

Coal Ash Impoundments (Holding Ponds)

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/59AC817F041E81F08525765E0062EC3C

All of you who were aghast at the horrible spill that happened December 23, 2008 at the Tennessee Valley Authority, Coal Fire Plant. Where 2.6 million cubic yards of fly-ash, buried 400 acres in sludge. A retaining wall broke. The damage from this spill has not been measured in all the environmental damage.

Now, turn it around; a dozen or so solar panels get hit by lightening, and earthquake and fire what happens? What is the fallout? Those who keep trying to push filthy coal have thier eye on one thing; the bottom line.

We are too technologically advanced to fall for this filthy source of energy that adds to it the devestation of mountains by mountain-top mining. It doesn't matter your politics; would you have your child, pet, relative, loved one buried in Coal ash sludge for the sake of profits?