TVA Seeks Comment on Dewatering Facility at Kingston

HARRIMAN, Tenn. – As part of a commitment to change the way ash and coal products are handled, the Tennessee Valley Authority is proposing to design and build a new facility that would dry out byproduct streams of bottom ash and pyrite at the Kingston Fossil Plant.

The change would allow these coal-burning byproducts to be stored in an onsite, dry landfill.

This project supports TVA's plan to close all wet ponds containing coal combustion residue and convert them to dry storage throughout TVA’s coal fleet. Kingston is the second of TVA’s fossil plants to undergo the conversion.

An Environmental Assessment is being prepared to inform TVA decision-makers and the public about the environmental consequences of the proposed action. It is available for review and comment from April 2-May 5, 2015.

Two alternatives are under consideration: No action and construction of a “dewatering” facility.

If built, the bottom ash/pyrite stream would leave the coal plant and be pumped via conveyor to the new dewatering facility. Moisture would be removed and the dry product would be loaded onto trucks and hauled to an onsite landfill for disposal. The waste water would be processed and eventually discharged according to regulatory requirements.

The draft Environmental Assessment is available by contacting Ashley Farless, Tennessee Valley Authority, 1101 Market St., BR 4A, Chattanooga, TN, 37402.  Comments on the draft Environmental Assessment, including the alternatives and affected environmental resources considered in the document, may be submitted until May 5, 2015, either online at the web address or mailed to Farless.

The Kingston Fossil Plant is a 1.7 gigawatt, coal-burning power plant with nine generating units located in Roane County, Tenn., on the shore of Watts Bar Lake.

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power distributors serving 9 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA receives no taxpayer funding, deriving virtually all of its revenues from sales of electricity. In addition to operating and investing its revenues in its electric system, TVA provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.