Johnsonville Fossil Plant Ash Impoundment Closure Environmental Impact Statement

Humphreys County, Tennessee

The purpose of this EIS is to address the disposition of Ash Pond 2 at JOF, to support the implementation of TVA’s goal to eliminate all wet CCR storage at its coal plants by closing CCR surface impoundments across the TVA system, and to assist TVA in complying with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) CCR Rule and other applicable federal and state statutes and regulations.

TVA will evaluate closure of Ash Pond 2. In addition to this closure, TVA will analyze potential location requirements and associated environmental impacts associated with construction and utilization of a proposed beneficial re-use facility to process CCR materials. TVA will also evaluate potential impacts associated with the disposal of CCR at a new onsite landfill or existing offsite permitted landfills. TVA will develop and evaluate various alternatives to these actions, including the No Action Alternative.

Alternatives

In addition to a No Action Alternative, this EIS will address alternatives that meet the purpose and need for the project. TVA plans to consider the following alternatives: 

• No Action
• Closure-in-Place of Ash Pond 2
• Closure-by-Removal of Ash Pond 2 to an Existing Offsite Landfill
• Closure-by-Removal of Ash Pond 2 to a New Onsite Landfill
• Closure-by-Removal of Ash Pond 2 to an Existing Offsite and New Onsite Landfill
• Closure-by-Removal of Ash Pond 2 to an Offsite Beneficial Re-use Processing Facility with unusable CCR and excavated soil material going to an existing offsite or new onsite permitted landfill.

Public Involvement

TVA published the Notice of Intent on November 25, 2019. Public comments were accepted through December 20, 2019, concerning both the scope of the review and environmental issues that should be addressed. TVA also hosted a public information session on December 2, 2019, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at the New Johnsonville City Hall, Safe Room, 319 Long Street, New Johnsonville, Tennessee, and accepted comments at this meeting.

After consideration of comments received during the scoping period, TVA developed a Scoping Report summarizing the public and agency comments that were received. The scoping report was released on March 23, 2020.  

The comments received during scoping will continue to be considered as the EIS is developed. Additional opportunities for the public to comment on the proposed actions and environmental analysis will be provided during the public review period of the draft EIS.

Next Steps

After consideration of comments received during the scoping period, and following analysis of the issues, TVA will prepare a draft EIS for public review and comment. In making its final decision, TVA will consider the analyses in this EIS and substantive comments that it receives. A final decision on proceeding with the management and final disposal of CCR and closure of the surface impoundment will depend on a number of factors. These include results of the EIS, requirements of the CCR Rule, relevant state law requirements, engineering and risk evaluations, and financial considerations.

TVA anticipates holding a community meeting near JOF after releasing the Draft EIS. Meeting details will be posted on TVA’s website. TVA expects to release the Draft EIS in the spring of 2021.