Scrubbers to be tested tomorrow

Update for Community Advisory Group About Kingston Fossil Plant

Scrubber Equipment Testing

October 28, 2009

Consistent with the information we provided you on October 19, the process of bringing the Kingston Fossil Plant scrubber unit online is continuing. As an update, tomorrow, the plant will be running pumps which will circulate water within the scrubber. Water from a one-million gallon tank will run through sprays and fountains, including a bed of 1700 fountains that shoot water 20 feet high.

Again, if the air is cool, the warmer water coming into contact with the cooler air will create a water vapor inside the scrubber that will likely exit the unit through the stacks. This water condensation is like the steamy water vapor that comes off the surface of the river when the air temperature cools below the water temperature.

There are still no furnaces operating and no coal is being burned. No flue gas has passed through the scrubber, and nothing will exit the stack other than water vapor. The scrubber has not started up; this is still scheduled for mid- to late November.

Equipment testing will continue until the scrubber starts up. You may see this vapor again, but we want you to know it is only water vapor.

We will give you plenty of notification prior to the scrubber going into service.

As always, let me know if you have questions. Thanks,

Katie

Katie (Bell) Kline

Senior Manager, Community Relations

Tennessee Valley Authority

Tennessean Article on EPA Final Report

Coal ash poses significant risk: EPA report says

The Tennessean article.

Barge Maintenance Involves Lead Paint Removal

The Recovery Site will be doing maintenance work on a barge tomorrow. The barge is docked at the South boat ramp near the plant discharge channel. Part of the work includes scraping some lead paint off one side of the barge in order to weld handrails onto it. This work will be done in accordance with requirements for lead-based paint which includes capturing the paint chips and use of appropriate clothing worn by the workers (could see Tyvek suits).



I just want you to know what you might see is typical of what is done when dealing with lead-based paint (such as you might see when a highway bridge is being re-painted).



Katie (Bell) Kline

Senior Manager, Community Relations

Tennessee Valley Authority

400 W. Summit Hill Dr., WT 7D

Knoxville, TN 37902

TVA Bidding Swan Pond Road Work

To Members of the CAG,

I want to let you know that TVA is in the process of bidding the work for replacing the City of Kingston and HUB water, gas and effluent lines that were affected by the spill. The repairs will take place along Swan Pond Road from Highway 70 past the plant and on parts of Hassler Mill Road. This work should begin in early December. Once we award the work, the contractor is required to give us an overall schedule. Within the contract specs we included a requirement for the contractor to minimize any impact to traffic flow. In addition, they will give us at least a week’s advance notice about any work that will affect the road, which we will pass on to you.

We will keep you up to date as we get more information during the bid and award process. We have directed the contractor to include in their bid an expedited restoration of that segment of the 10” Kingston Utility Board line which will improve the water pressure. If you have any questions or want to know more about this, we’ll do our best to provide them. We may not know the answers right now, but we’ll get them to you as soon as we have them.

Site Tour Report

From CAG Member Andy Avel:

I toured the site yesterday with Mike Scott and am passing on the following observations:

1. The trains should have resumed yesterday because the site is now using the additive that Steve McCracken told us about last Thursday. The additive that absorbs any free water that may migrate from the fly ash on its journey to Alabama. So, trains should have started moving yesterday.

2. Mike talked about the vapor from the new scrubber stack and told me that the closer the plant gets to actual operation, the more testing of the system (using material that does not originate from the combustion of coal) will be done, and the more common the emission of water vapor will be. He did emphasize that the scrubbers are not connected to the combustion process, yet.

3. The 20 inch dredge is broken down and will be soon be replaced by another 20 inch dredge. The replacement dredge is sitting on the Clinch River across the channel from the Red Bone restaurant while the site is doing final safety and environmental inspections.

4. The Plant entrance and exit to the site exclusion zone, located close to the new scrubbers, is being improved to allow access to the exclusion zone for service and maintenance equipment. This will help alleviate traffic congestion on Swan Pond Road.

5. The height of the ash piles on the ball field is increasing because of improved dredging. However, limitations in the ability to move fly ash off site is causing more fly ash to accumulate on the site. The accumulation of the fly ash is being monitored carefully by both TVA and EPA to assure no problems arise. The additive to absorb water from the ash in the trains, will help to accelerate the transportation of the ash off site.

6. TVA is continuing to widen the ash drainage ditches to improve drainage in the failed dredge cell and the embayment and is cleaning out the settling pond.

7. I also visited the proposed visitor overlook. It will be located about 500 yards up the "driveway" that used to go to the house that was located in that area. The overlook will consist of a parking lot, a roofed area, and placards that identify areas of interest at the site. It looked to me like most of the excavation work was done.
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Information 10-21-09

Two new documents have been added to the Administrative Record, and a public comment period on both documents begins today and runs through November 20:

The Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) Work Plan describes the process TVA will use to evaluate removal action alternatives at the site. Those alternatives will be explained in detail in the EE/CA Report, and further public comment will be solicited at that time.

The Draft Community Involvement Plan (CIP) specifies outreach activities TVA will use to address community concerns and expectations. It also explains the opportunities for public involvement in the decision-making process at the site.

The details on the public comment period can be found here: http://www.tva.com/kingston/admin_record/public_comment.htm

Also, TVA has released to TDEC and posted on the Kingston website the event analysis report for the release of material from the Kingston Fossil Plant stack on September 18, 2009. The report details the event and includes photos and a timeline of the incident as well as root cause analysis information and actions being taken to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. Here is the link: http://www.tva.com/kingston/pdf/kingston_deposition_incident.pdf.