Watts Bar Fossil Plant
As part of its compliance with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) Commissioner's Order, TVA is currently conducting environmental studies at the Watts Bar Fossil Plant. Learn more about the TDEC Order.
The schedule for environmental studies being conducted at the site is listed below. For a definition of the studies, see the EIP glossary. The studies are also described in more detail within the Environmental Investigation Plan (EIP) and the Public Meeting Presentation.
Documents
TDEC Investigative Process

Environmental Investigations
Note: Environmental investigations are currently being conducted at the site. Conclusions about the presence or absence of risk at a CCR unit cannot be made based on the individual data results posted on this website. The collective data will be reported and evaluated in the Environmental Assessment Report (EAR). This will be used by TVA and TDEC to determine if further study is necessary. Conclusions about actions to be taken at the site will then be addressed in a Corrective Action/Risk Assessment (CARA) plan, after being made available for public review and comment.
Fieldwork Schedule
Note: Following the completion of field work, data are validated for quality before being released to the public. The following studies are not listed in the schedule since they do not require fieldwork: CCR Material Quantity, External Geotechnical Evaluation and Slope Stability.
2019 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||
Task | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
Background soil investigation | X | X | ||||||||||||||||||
Benthic: macroinvertebrate | X | X | ||||||||||||||||||
Benthic: mayfly | X | X | X | |||||||||||||||||
Benthic: sediment | Fieldwork completed prior to May 2019. | |||||||||||||||||||
CCR material: ash sampling | X | X | ||||||||||||||||||
CCR material: pore water | X | |||||||||||||||||||
CCR material: water levels | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||||||||||||
Dye trace study | These studies are not being conducted at this site, based on the EIP. | |||||||||||||||||||
Exploratory drilling | X | X | ||||||||||||||||||
Fish tissue investigation | X | X | X | |||||||||||||||||
Groundwater investigation | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||
Hydrogeologic investigation | X | X | ||||||||||||||||||
Seepage: initial walkdown | Fieldwork completed prior to May 2019. | |||||||||||||||||||
Surface stream investigation | X | X | X | |||||||||||||||||
Water balance | These studies are not being conducted at this site, based on the EIP. | |||||||||||||||||||
Water use survey | These studies are not being conducted at this site, based on the EIP. |